Study Population
This was a retrospective single institutional analysis that included
adults (18 years or older) that underwent STS-indexed cardiac operations
at a multi-hospital health system between January 2010 and February
2018. Patients were stratified based on whether or not they experienced
a GI complication in the initial 30-day postoperative period. GI
complications included cholecystitis requiring operative cholecystectomy
or percutaneous drainage, GI bleeding requiring transfusion, mesenteric
ischemia requiring operative exploration, hepatic failure, prolonged
ileus, pancreatitis and/or clostridium difficile infection. This study
was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of
Pittsburgh.