Prevalence of abnormal common femoral vein pulsatility on Doppler ultrasound in patients undergoing cardiac surgery and its association with adverse events: a prospective cohort study.

PURPOSE: Doppler ultrasound assessment of common femoral vein (CFV) flow could represent a simple, fast, and noninvasive technique to identify right ventricular dysfunction and venous congestion in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Our primary objective was to determine the prevalence of abnormal CFV flow pulsatility before cardiac surgery. Secondary objectives included investigating its association with postoperative outcomes.

METHODS

We conducted a single-centre prospective cohort study and recruited adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. We performed pulsed-wave Doppler ultrasound assessments of CFV flow at four timepoints: before surgery, after induction of anesthesia, immediately after surgery, and on postoperative day 1. When the Doppler profile showed cardiophasic variations in velocities, abnormal pulsatility was defined as a CFV pulsatility fraction ≥ 100%. Outcomes included postoperative complications, duration of postoperative support, and the cumulative time of persistent organ dysfunction after surgery (TPOD).

RESULTS

Among the 150 patients included, 30 (20%) presented abnormal CFV pulsatility (pulsatility fraction [PF] ≥ 100%) before surgery. Preoperative abnormal CFV pulsatility was associated with a higher proportion of postoperative acute kidney injury (35% vs 16%; P = 0.02), major complications (21% vs 7%; P = 0.02), and a longer duration of TPOD (median [interquartile range]; 24 [9-56] hr vs 5 [3-19] hr; P < 0.001). After adjusting for the European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation II, the association between PF ≥ 100% before surgery and TPOD remained statistically significant (β = 0.72; 95% confidence interval, 0.21 to 1.23; P = 0.01). An abnormal CFV Doppler was associated with higher right atrial pressure and tricuspid regurgitation.

CONCLUSIONS

Abnormal CFV flow pulsatility occurred in 20% of patients before cardiac surgery and was associated with a higher rate of major postoperative complications, longer durations of postoperative support and care, and a longer cumulative time of persistent organ dysfunction after surgery.

STUDY REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT05038267 ); first submitted 28 August 2021.