The influence of oxygen delivery during cardiopulmonary bypass on the incidence of delirium in CABG patients; a retrospective study

INTRODUCTION: Postoperative delirium is the most common neurological complication of cardiac surgery. Hypoxia has been shown to increase the risk of postoperative delirium. The possibility to continuously monitor oxygen delivery (DO(2)) during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) offers an adequate approximation of the oxygen status in a patient. This study investigates the role of oxygen delivery during cardiopulmonary bypass in the incidence of postoperative delirium. METHODS: Three hundred and fifty-seven adult patients who underwent normothermic coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery were included in this retrospective study. The nadir indexed DO(2) (DO(2)i) value on bypass, the total time under the critical DO(2)i level and the area under the curve (AUC) for critical DO(2)i were determined. Delirium was identified by the postoperative administration of haloperidol. RESULTS: The mean nadir DO(2)i significantly differed, comparing the group of patients with postoperative delirium to the group without. Multivariate analysis only identified age, pre-existing cognitive impairment, preoperative kidney dysfunction and cross-clamp time as independent risk factors for delirium. The results also indicated that patients of older age were more sensitive to a declined DO(2)i. CONCLUSION: A low DO(2)i during cardiopulmonary bypass is significantly associated with the incidence of postoperative delirium in CABG patients. However, the role of DO(2) as an independent predictor of delirium could not be proven.