Preoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection increases risk of early postoperative cardiovascular complications following noncardiac surgery. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2023 Jun 01;324(6):H721-H731
Date
03/18/2023Pubmed ID
36930659Pubmed Central ID
PMC10151044DOI
10.1152/ajpheart.00097.2023Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85153899506 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 3 CitationsAbstract
As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic progresses to an endemic phase, a greater number of patients with a history of COVID-19 will undergo surgery. Major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACE) are the primary contributors to postoperative morbidity and mortality; however, studies assessing the relationship between a previous severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and postoperative MACE outcomes are limited. Here, we analyzed retrospective data from 457,804 patients within the N3C Data Enclave, the largest national, multi-institutional data set on COVID-19 in the United States. However, 7.4% of patients had a history of COVID-19 before surgery. When comorbidities, age, race, and risk of surgery were controlled, patients with preoperative COVID-19 had an increased risk for 30-day postoperative MACE. MACE risk was influenced by an interplay between COVID-19 disease severity and time between surgery and infection; in those with mild disease, MACE risk was not increased even among those undergoing surgery within 4 wk following infection. In those with moderate disease, risk for postoperative MACE was mitigated 8 wk after infection, whereas patients with severe disease continued to have elevated postoperative MACE risk even after waiting for 8 wk. Being fully vaccinated decreased the risk for postoperative MACE in both patients with no history of COVID-19 and in those with breakthrough COVID-19 infection. Together, our results suggest that a thorough assessment of the severity, vaccination status, and timing of SARS-CoV-2 infection must be a mandatory part of perioperative stratification.NEW & NOTEWORTHY With an increasing proportion of patients undergoing surgery with a prior history of COVID-19, it is crucial to understand the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on postoperative cardiovascular/cerebrovascular risk. Our work assesses a large, national, multi-institutional cohort of patients to highlight that COVID-19 infection increases risk for postoperative major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACE). MACE risk is influenced by an interplay between disease severity and time between infection and surgery, and full vaccination reduces the risk for 30-day postoperative MACE. These results highlight the importance of stratifying time-to-surgery guidelines based on disease severity.
Author List
SenthilKumar G, Verhagen NB, Sheriff SA, Yang X, Figueroa Castro CE, Szabo A, Taylor BW, Wainaina N, Lauer K, Gould JC, Kothari AN, N3C ConsortiumAuthors
Carlos E. Figueroa Castro MD Assistant Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinJon Gould MD Chief, Professor in the Surgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Anai N. Kothari MD Assistant Professor in the Surgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Kathryn K. Lauer MD Vice Chair, Professor in the Anesthesiology department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Aniko Szabo PhD Professor in the Institute for Health and Equity department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Bradley W. Taylor Chief Research Informatics Officer in the Clinical and Translational Science Institute department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
HumansPostoperative Complications
Retrospective Studies
United States
