We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
ARAB HEALTH - INFORMA

Download Mobile App




Obese Cardiac Patients Need More Post-Surgical Care

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 21 Aug 2017
Print article
Obesity is associated with a significant increase in intensive care unit (ICU) resource utilization following cardiac operations, according to a new study.

Researchers at Saint John Regional Hospital (Saint John, Canada) and Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick (DMNB; Saint John, Canada) conducted a study that included 5,365 patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 kg/m2 or higher who underwent a cardiac surgical procedure at the New Brunswick Heart Centre (Saint John, Canada) between 2006 and 2013. The patients were by stratified by BMI; normal (18.5-25), pre-obese (25-30), obese class I (30-35), obese class II (35-40), and obese class III (BMI over 40).

Comparisons between weight categories were performed, with risk-adjusted effect of weight category on prolonged ICU stay, prolonged ventilation, and ICU readmission determined. The results showed that following surgery, the 1,948 patients classified as obese were four times more likely to require extra time in the ICU, three times more likely to need additional time on mechanical ventilation, and three times more likely to be readmitted to the ICU. The study was published on August 9, 2017, in Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

“Obesity is a growing problem for society that has reached epidemic proportions. We saw that as patients became more obese, the hospital resources required to care for them after heart surgery also increased,” said lead author Brandon Rosvall, BSc, of DMNB. “Expensive resources, including staff, medical equipment, and medication are needed to provide these services. By more efficiently using ICU resources, we can save the health care system money, while also improving overall patient care.”

BMI is a value is defined as the body mass divided by the square of the body height, and is universally expressed in units of kg/m2. It is generally used as a means of correlation between groups related by general mass, and can serve as a means of estimating adiposity. Commonly accepted BMI ranges are underweight (under 18.5), normal (18.5-25), overweight (25-30), and obese (over 30). BMI has been used by the World health Organization (WHO) as the standard for recording obesity statistics since the early 1980s.

Related Links:
Saint John Regional Hospital
Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick

Gold Member
STI Test
Vivalytic Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Array
New
Gold Member
X-Ray QA Meter
T3 AD Pro
New
Mobile Barrier
Tilted Mobile Leaded Barrier
New
Computed Tomography System
Aquilion ONE / INSIGHT Edition

Print article

Channels

Critical Care

view channel
Image: This handheld scanner is moved over breast tissue to monitor how well breast cancer tumors respond to chemotherapy or radiation treatment (Photo courtesy of Boston University)

Novel Medical Device Inventions Use Light to Monitor Blood Pressure and Track Cancer Treatment Progress

Traditional blood pressure devices often leave room for human error. To address this, scientists at Boston University (Boston, MA, USA) have developed a new blood pressure monitoring device based on speckle... Read more

Patient Care

view channel
Image: The portable biosensor platform uses printed electrochemical sensors for the rapid, selective detection of Staphylococcus aureus (Photo courtesy of AIMPLAS)

Portable Biosensor Platform to Reduce Hospital-Acquired Infections

Approximately 4 million patients in the European Union acquire healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) or nosocomial infections each year, with around 37,000 deaths directly resulting from these infections,... Read more

Health IT

view channel
Image: First ever institution-specific model provides significant performance advantage over current population-derived models (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai)

Machine Learning Model Improves Mortality Risk Prediction for Cardiac Surgery Patients

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed to create predictive models in various medical fields, with some demonstrating improved outcomes compared to their standard-of-care counterparts.... Read more

Point of Care

view channel
Image: The acoustic pipette uses sound waves to test for biomarkers in blood (Photo courtesy of Patrick Campbell/CU Boulder)

Handheld, Sound-Based Diagnostic System Delivers Bedside Blood Test Results in An Hour

Patients who go to a doctor for a blood test often have to contend with a needle and syringe, followed by a long wait—sometimes hours or even days—for lab results. Scientists have been working hard to... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.