Commentary: Earlier warning for pulmonary complications: It's never too soon to take action

In 2016, Edwards and colleagues1 published an illuminating report on failure to rescue in more than 600,000 patients in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Database who had undergone coronary artery bypass grafting. Analyzing major complications (ie, stroke, reoperation, renal failure, and prolonged ventilation), the authors found that any 1 of those complications was reasonably tolerated, with a 5% mortality rate; however, having 2 complications increased mortality to 20% to 30%. Moreover, differences in postcomplication mortality were not explained by any complication's frequency; rather, higher rates of failure to rescue at higher-mortality surgical centers were more explanatory.
Source: The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery - Category: Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Authors: Tags: Commentary Source Type: research