Postoperative hyper-inflammation as a predictor of poor outcomes in patients with acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) undergoing surgical repair.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative hyper-inflammation is a frequent event in patients with acute Stanford type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) after surgical repair. This study's objective was to determine which inflammatory biomarkers could be used to make a better formula for identifying postoperative hyper-inflammation, and which risk factors were associated with hyper-inflammation.

METHODS: A total of 405 patients were enrolled in this study from October 1, 2020 to April 1, 2023. Of these patients, 124 exhibited poor outcomes. In order to investigate the optimal cut-off values for poor outcomes, logistic and receiver operating characteristic analyses were performed on the following parameters on the first postoperative day: procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII). These cut-off points were used to separate the patients into hyper-inflammatory (n = 52) and control (n = 353) groups. Finally, the logistic were used to find the risk factors of hyper-inflammatory.

RESULTS: PCT, CRP, IL-6, and SII were independent risk factors of poor outcomes in the multivariate logistic model. Cut-off points of these biomarkers were 2.18 ng/ml, 49.76 mg/L, 301.88 pg/ml, 2509.96 × 109 /L respectively. These points were used to define postoperative hyper-inflammation (OR 2.97, 95% CI 1.35-6.53, P < 0.01). Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) > 180 min, and deep hypothermia circulatory arrest (DHCA) > 40 min were the independent risk factors for hyper-inflammation.

CONCLUSIONS: PCT > 2.18, CRP > 49.76, IL-6 > 301.88, and SII < 2509.96 could be used to define postoperative hyper-inflammation which increased mortality and morbidity in patients after ATAAD surgery. Based on these findings, we found that CPB > 180 min and DHCA > 40 min were separate risk factors for postoperative hyper-inflammation.