Predictive Risk Factors for Patients With Cirrhosis Undergoing Heart Surgery

Background. Empiric experiences suggest higher mortality and complication risk for patients with cirrhosis of the liver after cardiac surgery. However, cirrhosis is not considered a risk factor in either the EuroSCORE or The Society of Thoracic Surgeons score. We report a large single-center experience of patients with cirrhosis undergoing cardiac surgery with extracorporeal circulation and aimed to evaluate the severity of cirrhosis as a predictor of outcome. Methods. During 2001 and 2011, we operated on 109 consecutive patients (average age, 64 years; 82 male) diagnosed for cirrhosis with cardiopulmonary bypass for different indications. Thirty-day mortality and long-term mortality were set as primary study end points. Results. Thirty-day mortality was 26%, and 5-year survival was 19%. Patients categorized as Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CHILD) C (n = 6; 67% 30-day survival; 0% 5-year survival) and B (n = 30; 60%; 5%) had worse 30-day and 5-year survival compared with patients categorized as CHILD A (n = 73; 80%; 25%). For 30-day mortality, preoperative EuroSCORE (p = 0.015), model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score (p = 0.006), albumin (p = 0.023), total protein (p = 0.01), and myocardial infarction (p = 0.049) revealed significant differences between survivors and nonsurvivors. Multivariate logistic regression identified only MELD score (odds ratio [OR], 1.12; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03 to 1.23; p = 0.011) and total protein (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.95 to 1; p = 0.049) were connected with increased 30-day mortality. Cox regression analysis revealed EuroSCORE (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.03; p < 0.0001) and MELD (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.12; p = 0.016) predicting the overall mortality. Receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated significant predictive power of MELD (p = 0.001) and EuroSCORE (p = 0.027) for 30-day mortality. Conclusions. Patients with cirrhosis undergoing heart surgery with extracorporeal circulation have a poor prognosis. Several preoperative factors are related to outcome. EuroSCORE and MELD score may help to evaluate operation risk and indication. (Ann Thorac Surg 2012;94:1947-53) (c) 2012 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons