Neuroprotective effect of mild hypothermia in patients undergoing coronary artery surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass: Five-year follow-up of a randomized trial
Received 2 May 2006; received in revised form 4 July 2006; accepted 11 September 2006.
Refers to article:
Five-year cognitive outcomes: Surgical effects or natural progression of vascular disease
John W. Hammon, David A. Stump
The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
May 2007 (Vol. 133, Issue 5, Pages 1133-1134) Full Text |
Full-Text PDF (76 KB)
Objective
In a randomized trial of 223 patients undergoing coronary artery surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass, we have reported a neuroprotective effect of mild hypothermia. To determine whether the beneficial effect of mild hypothermia was long-lasting, we repeated the psychometric tests in 131 patients after 5 years.
Methods
Patients were cooled to 32°C during aortic crossclamping and then randomized to rewarming to either 34°C or 37°C, with no further rewarming until arrival in intensive care unit. Cognitive function was measured preoperatively and 1 week and 5 years postoperatively with a battery of 11 psychometric tests interrogating verbal memory, attention, and psychomotor speed and dexterity.
Results
Patients who had greater cognitive decline 1 week after surgery showed poorer performance 5 years later. The magnitude of cognitive decline over 5 years was modest. The incidence of deficits defined as a 1 standard deviation [SD] decline in at least 1 of 3 factors was not different between temperature groups. Fewer patients in the hypothermic group had deficits that persisted over the 5 years, but this difference did not attain statistical significance (RR = 0.64, P = .16).
Conclusions
The effect of surgery on cognitive function observed early after surgery is an important predictor of cognitive performance 5 years later. Although there was evidence of a neuroprotective effect of mild hypothermia early after surgery in the original cohort, the results after 5 years were inconclusive. In general, the magnitude of cognitive changes over 5 years was modest. We believe that further trials investigating the efficacy of mild hypothermia in patients having cardiac surgery are warranted.
ABSTRACT