BackgroundCardiac surgical procedures are associated with postoperative neurological complications such as cognitive decline and delirium, which can complicate recovery and impair quality of life. Perioperative depression and anxiety may be associated with increased mortality after cardiac surgeries. Surgical prehabilitation is an emerging concept that includes preoperative interventions to potentially reduce postoperative complications. While most current prehabilitation interventions focus on optimizing physical health, mind–body interventions are an area of growing interest. Preoperative mind–body interventions such as Isha Kriya meditation, may hold significant potential to improve postsurgical outcomes.MethodsThis is a prospective, randomized controlled feasibility trial. A total of 40 adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery will be randomized to one of three study groups. Participants randomized to either of the two intervention groups will receive meditative intervention: (1) commencing two weeks before surgery; or (2) commencing only from the day after surgery. Meditative intervention will last for four weeks after the surgery in these groups. Participants in the third control group will receive the current standard of care with no meditative intervention. All participants will undergo assessments using neurocognitive, sleep, depression, anxiety, and pain questionnaires at various time points in the perioperative period. Blood samples will be collected at baseline, preoperatively, and postoperatively to assess for inflammatory biomarkers. The primary aim of this trial is to assess the feasibility of implementing a perioperative meditative intervention program. Other objectives include studying the effect of meditation on postoperative pain, sleep, psychological wellbeing, cognitive function, and delirium. These will be used to calculate effect size to design future studies.DiscussionThis study serves as the first step towards understanding the feasibility of implementing a mind–body intervention as a prehabilitative intervention to improve postoperative surgical outcomes after cardiac surgery.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov, NCT03198039. Registered on 23 June 2017.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13063-018-3103-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background: Delirium is associated with many negative health outcomes. Postoperative sedation and opioid administration may contribute to delirium. We hypothesize that the use of dexmedetomidine and Intravenous acetaminophen (IVA) may lead to reduced opioid consumption and decreased incidence of postoperative delirium. This pilot study aims to assess feasibility of using dexmedetomidine and IVA in cardiac surgical patients, and estimate the effect size for incidence and duration of delirium. Methods: A total of 12 adult patients >60 years of age undergoing cardiac surgery were recruited and randomized into 4 groups: Propofol only (P), Propofol with IVA (P+A), Dexmedetomidine only (D), Dexmedetomidine with IVA (D+A). Preoperative baseline cognition and postoperative delirium was assessed daily until discharge. The feasibility was assessed by the number of patients who completed the study. Results: All patients completed the study successfully. The total incidence of delirium in the study population was 42% (5/12):  67% (2/3) in the group P, and 67% (2/3) in the group D, 33% (1/3) in  D+A group and 0%(0/3)  P+A group. The incidence of delirium was 17% (1/6) in the group receiving IVA compared to 67% (4/6) that did not receive IVA. The mean range of duration of delirium was 0-1 days. One patient expired after surgery, unrelated to the study protocol. One patient in the D group experienced hypotension (systolic blood pressure <90 mm of Hg.) Conclusions: The feasibility of performing a  project is ascertained by the study. Patients receiving IVA had lower incidence of delirium compared to patients not receiving IVA which suggests that IVA may have a role in reducing the incidence of delirium. A prospective randomized, placebo-controlled trial will be the next step in investigating the role of dexmedetomidine and IVA in reducing the incidence of delirium.

Delirium is associated with many negative health outcomes. Background:Postoperative sedation and opioid administration may contribute to delirium. We hypothesize that the use of dexmedetomidine and Intravenous acetaminophen (IVA) may lead to reduced opioid consumption and decreased incidence of postoperative delirium. This pilot study aims to assess feasibility of using dexmedetomidine and IVA in cardiac surgical patients, and obtain effect size estimates for incidence and duration of delirium.A total of 12 adult patients >60 years of age undergoing cardiac Methods: surgery were recruited for the study after IRB approval and randomized into 4 groups: Propofol only (P), Propofol with IVA (P+A), Dexmedetomidine only (D), Dexmedetomidine with IVA (D+A). Preoperative baseline cognition and postoperative delirium was assessed daily until discharge. The feasibility was assessed by the number of patients who successfully completed the study.All patients completed the study protocol successfully. The total Results: incidence of delirium in the study population was 42% (5/12): 67% (2/3) in the group P, and 67% (2/3) in the group D, 33% (1/3) in D+A group and 0%(0/3) P+A group. The incidence of delirium was 17% (1/6) in the group receiving IVA compared to 67% (4/6) that did not receive IVA. The mean duration of delirium was 0-1 days. One patient expired after surgery, unrelated to the study protocol. One patient in the D group experienced hypotension with systolic blood pressure <90 mm of Hg.The feasibility of performing a large-scale project is ascertained Conclusions: by the study. Patients receiving IVA had lower incidence of delirium compared to patients not receiving IVA which suggests that IVA may have a role in reducing the incidence of delirium. A prospective randomized, placebo-controlled trial will be the next step in investigating the role of dexmedetomidine and IVA in reducing the incidence of delirium.