Pilot studies of cardiovascular biomarkers, atrial fibrillation and risk stratification in patients with oesophageal cancer undergoing surgery

Tober, Katherina E.S. (2021) Pilot studies of cardiovascular biomarkers, atrial fibrillation and risk stratification in patients with oesophageal cancer undergoing surgery. MD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Abstract available: page 3.

Peri-operative medicine is an area that is increasingly important in terms of increasing population size and therefore increasing volume of surgeries completed. The assessment of risk and the communication of this risk to patients and their families is vital to shared decision making which is one of the key considerations for practising realistic medicine. Oesophageal cancer was responsible for 3% of the total number of cancer cases in the UK in 2015 and affected 921 patients in Scotland in 2015 which was 10% of the total number of oesophageal cancer cases in the UK that year. Studies have shown that atrial fibrillation is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and it can occur following operations such as those undertaken in the management of oesophageal cancer. Several cardiovascular biomarkers exist, some of which have been associated with the development of atrial fibrillation and the question I sought to explore was whether it was possible to begin to understand which patients developed atrial fibrillation following their operation for oesophageal cancer and also whether the development of atrial fibrillation, in combination with other cardiovascular biomarkers, in the context of cardiopulmonary exercise testing results would assist in the prediction of the morbidity and mortality of this patient group.
Based on the existing literature, I created the concept for the study and then co-ordinated and implemented the study.
In the work I have presented in this thesis I have shared some of the challenges which I faced during the study and how I dealt with those. I have also shared some of the results including biomarker levels and cardiopulmonary exercise testing results in the context of the onset of AF in patients and the subsequent morbidity and mortality. I have also discussed the challenges I encountered when the study did not go according to plan and the lessons which I have learned as a result.

• Item Type: Thesis (MD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: R Medicine > R Medicine (General); R Medicine > RD Surgery
• Colleges/Schools: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences
• Supervisor's Name: Kinsella, Professor John and Quasim, Dr. Tara
• Date of Award: 2021
• Depositing User: Dr Katherina Tober
• Unique ID: glathesis:2021-82250
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 04 Jun 2021 07:24
• Last Modified: 20 Jan 2023 11:14
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.82250
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/82250