Cardiac reoperation in the intensive care unit

Background. At our institution, cardiac reoperations are routinely performe d in the cardiac intensive care unit, as opposed to taking these patients b ack to the operating room. Our hypothesis was that reoperation in a cardiac intensive care unit does not increase sternal infection rate. Methods. A retrospective analysis was performed on 6,908 adult patients und ergoing cardiac operation over a 9-year period. Excluding those in cardiac arrest, 340 (4.9%) patients underwent reoperation in the cardiac intensive care unit, of which 289 survived (85%). Results. Of the 289 patients who survived reoperation in the intensive care unit, 6 developed wound infections that required operative debridement (2. 1%), which was not significantly different from those patients not requirin g reoperation (1.9%, 121 of 6,497, p = 0.70). Hospital charges for a 2-hour reoperation in the intensive care unit and operating room are approximatel y $1,972/patient and $5,832/patient, respectively. Conclusions. Reoperation in the intensive care unit does not increase wound infection rate compared to those without reoperation. Decreased charges, a voiding transport of potentially unstable patients, quicker time to interve ntion, and convenience are advantages of reoperation in an intensive care u nit.