Oa. Selnes et al., Determinants of cognitive change after coronary artery bypass surgery: A multifactorial problem, ANN THORAC, 67(6), 1999, pp. 1669-1676
Citations number
26
Categorie Soggetti
Cardiovascular & Respiratory Systems","Medical Research Diagnosis & Treatment
Background. Several studies have investigated predictors of cognitive decli
ne after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), but there is little consen
sus as to which specific factors are predictive of poor cognitive outcomes.
Methods. We evaluated 127 patients undergoing CABG with standardized neurop
sychological tests preoperatively, at 1 month and at 1 year. The outcome me
asure was a continuous variable reflecting change in z-scores for eight cog
nitive domains over time for individual patients. Univariate analyses were
performed to evaluate the association between the demographic, operative, a
nd postoperative factors and the cognitive outcome variables. Factors that
were significant were included in a multiple linear regression analysis.
Results. Among the medical history variables, diabetes was associated with
change in executive functions and psychomotor speed. Some of the operative
variables were associated with short-term changes, but none with the 1-year
outcomes. For example, the surgeon's rating of degree of difficulty in sel
ecting a cross-clamp site was associated with change in attention. Higher m
ean pump rate during the procedure was associated with improved performance
on tests of language. The cognitive domains associated with medical variab
les were different from those associated with surgical variables, and the a
ssociations observed at 1-year were different from those seen at 1-month.
Conclusions. Change in cognition after CABG is associated with both medical
and surgical variables. The specifics of these associations depend on the
choice of time points after surgery. This suggests that there are multiple
etiologies for these changes, with nonspecific effects of anesthesia and pr
olonged surgery interacting with the more specific effects of the surgical
procedure itself. (C) 1999 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.