Use of the pulmonary artery catheter in the first postoperative hours of high-risk cardiovascular surgery

Introduction: Information on physiological phenomena in the postoperative period of cardiac surgery, pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) use, and medical behaviors derived from its measurement, is limited. Objective: To describe the patterns of PAC use and therapeutic behaviors derived from it in the first postoperative hours of high-risk cardiovascular surgery. Materials and methods: Retrospective cohort study of high-risk cardiovascular surgery patients, managed with PAC in the intensive care unit of the Hospital Universitario San Ignacio in Bogotá D.C. (Colombia). The therapeutic interventions derived from the hemodynamic evaluation with this catheter were evaluated, taking into account the patterns of use and therapeutic behaviors according to the postoperative moment. Results: Forty-two patients were included. Median age 65 years, 59.5% men, 57.1% with EuroSCORE≥6. Median time of PAC use was 63 h (RIC 45–80). The number of PAC measurements per 12 h decreased from 2.16 ± 0.53 in the first 12 h to 1.30 ± 0.82 after 48 h (p: 0.0003). The number of behaviors taken from each measurement decreased from 1.48 ± 0.45 to 0.71 ± 0.51 (p: 0.0001) in the same period. There was significant reduction in number of behaviors associated with fluid, vasoactive, and vasodilator administration over time. Conclusions: Our data suggest that with the passage of hours the number of PAC measurements is decreasing, as well as the number of behaviors taken based on these measurements. These data suggest that many of the patients who maintained the pulmonary artery catheter for up to 48–72 h no longer required it. Further studies will be needed to clarify which patients benefit from pulmonary artery catheterization beyond 48 h.