Perioperative goal-directed therapy in high-risk abdominal surgery. A multicenter randomized controlled superiority trial

Study objective: The potential of perioperative goal-directed therapy (PGDT) to improve outcome after high-risk abdominal surgery remains subject of debate. In particular, there is a need for large, multicenter trials focusing on relevant patient outcomes to confirm the evidence found in small, single center studies including minor complications in their composite endpoints. The present study therefore aims to investigate the effect of an arterial waveform analysis based PGDT algorithm on the incidence of major complications including mortality after high-risk abdominal surgery. Design: Prospective randomized controlled multicenter trial. Setting: Operating theatres and Post-Anesthesia/Intensive Care units (PACU/ICU) of four tertiary hospitals in The Netherlands. Patients: A total number of 482 patients undergoing elective, abdominal surgery that is considered high-risk due to the extent of the procedure and/or patient comorbidities. Interventions: Hemodynamic therapy using an age-specific PGDT algorithm including cardiac index (CI) and stroke volume variation (SVV) measurements during a 24-h perioperative period starting at induction of anesthesia. Measurements: The average number of major complications (including mortality) within 30 days after surgery, the number of minor complications, hospital and PACU/ICU length of stay (LOS), amounts of fluids and vasoactive medications used. Complications were graded using the Accordion severity grading system. Results: The average number of major complications per patient was 0.79 (PGDT group) versus 0.69 (control group) (p = 0.195). There were no statistically significant differences in the number of minor complications, hospital LOS, PACU/ICU LOS, or grading of complications. Patients in the PGDT group received more fluids intraoperatively, more dobutamine intra- and postoperatively, while patients in the control group received more phenylephrine during the operation. Conclusions: PGDT based on a CI and SVV driven algorithm did not result in improved outcomes after high-risk abdominal surgery. Clinical trial registration: Netherlands Trial Registry: NTR3380.