Perioperative covert stroke in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery (NeuroVISION)

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jope

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Looks this just came out this month - still pretty shocking that around 7% of patients 65 and older coming for non-cardiac surgery get a stroke. They don't show the risk factors at this time and there is nothing obvious from this study to decrease this morbidity at present time.

Perioperative covert stroke in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery (NeuroVISION): a prospective cohort study,
The Lancet,
Volume 394, Issue 10203,
2019,
Pages 1022-1029,
ISSN 0140-6736,
.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673619317957)
Abstract: Summary
Background
In non-surgical settings, covert stroke is more common than overt stroke and is associated with cognitive decline. Although overt stroke occurs in less than 1% of adults after non-cardiac surgery and is associated with substantial morbidity, we know little about perioperative covert stroke. Therefore, our primary aim was to investigate the relationship between perioperative covert stroke (ie, an acute brain infarct detected on an MRI after non-cardiac surgery in a patient with no clinical stroke symptoms) and cognitive decline 1 year after surgery.
Methods
NeuroVISION was a prospective cohort study done in 12 academic centres in nine countries, in which we assessed patients aged 65 years or older who underwent inpatient, elective, non-cardiac surgery and had brain MRI after surgery. Two independent neuroradiology experts, masked to clinical data, assessed each MRI for acute brain infarction. Using multivariable regression, we explored the association between covert stroke and the primary outcome of cognitive decline, defined as a decrease of 2 points or more on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment from preoperative baseline to 1-year follow-up. Patients, health-care providers, and outcome adjudicators were masked to MRI results.
Findings
Between March 24, 2014, and July 21, 2017, of 1114 participants recruited to the study, 78 (7%; 95% CI 6–9) had a perioperative covert stroke. Among the patients who completed the 1-year follow-up, cognitive decline 1 year after surgery occurred in 29 (42%) of 69 participants who had a perioperative covert stroke and in 274 (29%) of 932 participants who did not have a perioperative covert stroke (adjusted odds ratio 1·98, 95% CI 1·22–3·20, absolute risk increase 13%; p=0·0055). Covert stroke was also associated with an increased risk of perioperative delirium (hazard ratio
2·24, 95% CI 1·06–4·73, absolute risk increase 6%; p=0·030) and overt stroke or transient ischaemic attack at 1-year follow-up (HR 4·13, 1·14–14·99, absolute risk increase 3%; p=0·019).
Interpretation
Perioperative covert stroke is associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline 1 year after non-cardiac surgery, and perioperative covert stroke occurred in one in 14 patients aged 65 years and older undergoing non-cardiac surgery. Research is needed to establish prevention and management strategies for perioperative covert stroke.

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I really don’t know what to do with studies like these or the studies on myocardial injury after non -cardiac surgery... since getting an mri on everyone or empirically starting everyone on asa, statin, and htn meds would likely do more harm than good...
 
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I really don’t know what to do with studies like these or the studies on myocardial injury after non -cardiac surgery... since getting an mri on everyone or empirically starting everyone on asa, statin, and htn meds would likely do more harm than good...
It does make you wonder how much "permissive hypotension" goes around in anesthesia. Also the other problem with many of these studies is that you can't unlink surgery from anesthesia from the perioperative period.
 
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I do not find that study to be particularly surprising. What exactly is the age of the patients they were looking at? Above 65 doesn't mean a bunch of 66 year olds. I'd imagine it was mostly a bunch of patients in their 70s and 80s that were having these essentially subclinical strokes. Having surgery sets up an inflammatory and prothrombotic state in the body and elderly patients likely already have abnormal microcirculation.
 
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