IMPRoVE ver 1.3

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Incidence, impact and Mechanisms of Peri-operative Right VEntricular Dysfunction (IMPRoVE)

  • IRAS ID

    315904

  • Contact name

    Benjamin Shelley

  • Contact email

    Benjamin.Shelley@glasgow.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    National Waiting Times Centre Board

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    3 years, 0 months, 0 days

  • Research summary

    The right side of the heart (right heart) pumps blood from the rest of the body to the lungs. We believe that during and after major surgery the right heart is exposed to increased strain which can cause right heart injury, and this may be linked with increased complications postoperatively. The Incidence, Impact and Mechanisms of Perioperative Right Ventricular Dysfunction (IMPRoVE) incorporates a series of studies to answer four critical questions

    1. What happens to right heart function after major surgery?
    2. What is the impact of right heart injury on patient outcomes?
    3. What causes postoperative right heart injury?
    4. What can be done around the time of surgery to prevent right heart injury?

    Methods:
    These questions will be addressed in following ways:
    1. 175 patients having different types of major surgery will undergo ultrasound scans of the heart (echocardiography) and blood tests to diagnose heart injury, before and after surgery. This will allow us to assess how common right heart injury is after surgery, and its effect on patient outcomes.
    2. To explore mechanisms of right heart injury, 50 of these patients will undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI- a reference method for assessing heart function) of the heart before and after surgery.
    3. To explore the role of inflammation in right heart injury after surgery, we will obtain blood samples flowing into and out of the heart in 10 patients. We can then examine what happens to inflammatory immune cells as they pass through the heart and in addition assess the haemodynamic changes in the postoperative pulmonary vasculature.

    Implications:
    This study will give us a better understanding of which patients are likely to suffer right heart injury around the time of major surgery and how this injury occurs. The results from this study may allow us to provide interventions to try and reduce right heart injury, potentially reducing complications and improving recovery.

  • REC name

    South Central - Oxford C Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    22/SC/0442

  • Date of REC Opinion

    10 Jan 2023

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion