Perioperative Longitudinal Study of Complications and Long-term Outcomes

Condition(s) studied

Study summary

Purpose: with an increased risk of complications. Improved preoperative risk stratification and earlier diagnosis of these complications may ameliorate postoperative recovery and improve long-term outcomes. The perioperative longitudinal study of complications and long-term outcomes (PLUTO) aims to establish a comprehensive biorepository that will facilitate research in this field.

Patients undergoing elective intermediate to high-risk non-cardiac surgery are eligible for enrolment. For the first 7 postoperative days (or longer as indicated), participants will be subjected to daily bedside visits by dedicated observers, who adjudicate clinical events and perform non-invasive physiological measurements (including handheld spirometry and single-channel EEG). In addition, we will collect blood samples as well as microbiome specimens at selected time points. Primary study outcomes are the postoperative occurrence of nosocomial infections, major adverse cardiac events, pulmonary complications, acute kidney injury and delirium. Secondary outcomes include mortality as well as long-term psychopathology, cognitive dysfunction, and quality of life.

PLUTO is the first perioperative biobank worldwide that includes a broad range of high-risk surgical patients, collecting prospective bedside data as well as both blood and microbiome specimens during the entire perioperative period. The data and materials collected in PLUTO will be used to develop, externally validate, and update prognostic prediction models for improved risk assessment, to test novel biomarkers for early detection of postoperative complications and to study the aetiology, attributable morbidity and mortality related to these events.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Perioperative infectious complications — During hospital admission
  Infectious complications are defined according to Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) criteria and International Sepsis Forum consensus definitions. A comprehensive list of diagnostic criteria, as well as an assessment of the interobserver agreement associated with these, has previously been published in Klein Klouwenberg, Crit Care Med 2013; 41:2373-8. Since these definitions are in agreement with the CDC criteria used in the EPCO definitions, they did not have to be modified for the PLUTO project. For all events, the post hoc probability of true infection will be categorized using a four-point scale (none, possible, probable, and definite infection). This enables us to distinguish cases with true infection from cases with, for example, postoperative systemic inflammation.
• Postoperative Pulmonary Complications (PPC) — During hospital admission
  Postoperative pulmonary complications are registered according to the European Perioperative Clinical Outcome (EPCO) definitions. A postoperative pulmonary complication is registered if (1) the patient has a saturation below 90%, (2) the patients oxygen consumption is exceeding 5L/min or (3) the patient's saturation is below 94% while on oxygen therapy. In addition to clinical signs and symptoms, radiology findings, diagnoses and instituted therapies part of the EPCO definitions, duration of the episode and diagnostic modalities used to obtain the diagnosis (e.g. chest x-ray, CT, arterial blood gas, etc.) are registered.
• Major Adverse Cardiac Events (MACE) — During hospital admission
  Major Adverse Cardiac Events (MACE) are registered according to the StEP definitions. In addition, the items of the EPCO definition for MACE are included in the registration and all cardiovascular complications included in both these consensus definitions can therefore be reconstructed from the PLUTO database and easily be compared to other perioperative outcome studies. For every patient of 60 years and older, daily troponins are obtained every morning on the first three postoperative days. Daily, an anaesthesiologists assess the troponin values and institutes further diagnostic testing as indicated. For the remaining postoperative days and for patients younger than 60 years of age, troponin is measured on clinical indication.
• Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) — During hospital admission
  Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is defined according to the Risk, Injury, Failure, Loss of kidney function and End-stage kidney disease (RIFLE) criteria. The chart of the patients is assessed on a daily basis for information on urine production and creatinine / kidney function.
• Delirium — During hospital admission
  Delirium, defined as either a positive CAM(-ICU) or ≥ 4 points on the AT4.

Trial sites (1)

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