BackgroundDelirium is a quite common complication in adult patients post-cardiac surgery. The purpose of our study was to identify perioperative characteristics and also focus on incidence factors that could predict delirium in the cardiac surgery intensive care unit (CICU) postoperatively.MethodsWe conducted a prospective study of 179 consecutive patients, who underwent open-heart surgical operation and were admitted to the CICU of a general tertiary hospital in Athens, Greece. The patients were screened for delirium by using the diagnostic tools of Rich-mond Agitation Sedation Scale (RASS score) and the Confusion Assessment Method – ICU (CAM-ICU). The delirium assessment was carried out on the 1st and the 2nd postoperative day, and was conducted twice every nursing shift. A short questionnaire on sociodemographics and clinical patient characteristics was used for data collection purposes.ResultsA total of 179 patients who underwent open-heart surgical operation with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) were enrolled in our study. The 2-day incidence of postoperative delirium in ICU was 11.2% (n=20/179). The main independent predictors of delirium on the 2nd postoperative day were neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (p=0.001) and urea levels (p=0.016). Additionally, increased perioperative creatinine (p=0.006) and sodium (p=0.039) levels were significantly associated with delirium occurrence. Furthermore, elevated EuroSCORE (p=0.001), extended length of stay (LOS) in ICU (p<0.001), and extended LOS with endotracheal tube (p=0.001) were also statistically significant indicators.ConclusionPatients with extended LOS with endotracheal tube and prolonged stay in ICU in accordance with peaked urea, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, creatinine, and sodium levels seem to have a significantly greater probability of developing delirium in the ICU. Further research is needed in the field of postoperative cardiac patients in order to determine the causality and etiology of certain risk factors for delirium.

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PurposeThe purpose of the present study was to investigate the association between the perioperative neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and cardiac surgery patient outcomes.Patients and methodsA retrospective cohort study of 145 patients who underwent cardiac surgery in a tertiary hospital of Athens, Greece, from January to March 2015, was conducted. By using a structured short questionnaire, this study reviewed the electronic hospital database and the medical and nursing patient records for data collection purposes. The statistical significance was two-tailed, and p-values <0.05 were considered significant. The statistical analysis was performed with Mann–Whitney U test and Spearman’s correlation coefficient, by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (IBM SPSS 21.0 for Windows).ResultsThe increased preoperative levels of NLR were associated with significantly higher mortality, both in-hospital (p=0.001) and 30-day (p=0.002), prolonged postoperative hospital length of stay (LOS), both in the cardiac intensive care unit (ICU) (p=0.002), and in-hospital (p=0.018), and likewise with delayed tracheal extubation (p≤0.001). Furthermore, patients with elevated NLR during the second postoperative day had significantly higher in-hospital mortality (p=0.018), increased incidence of pneumonia (p=0.022), higher probability of readmission to the ICU (p=0.002), prolonged ICU LOS (p≤0.001), and delayed tracheal extubation (p≤0.001).ConclusionIncreased perioperative NLR seems to be associated with significantly higher mortality and morbidity in cardiac surgery patients. At the same time, NLR is a significant and inexpensive biomarker for the early identification of patients at high risk for complications. In addition, NLR levels could lead clinicians to perform measures for the optimal therapeutic patient approach.

In cardiac surgery patients with pre-extubation PaO2/inspired oxygen fraction (FiO2) < 200 mmHg, the possible benefits and optimal level of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) support are still unclear; therefore, we compared HFNC support with an initial gas flow of 60 or 40 L/min and conventional oxygen therapy. Ninety nine patients were randomly allocated (respective ratio: 1:1:1) to I = intervention group 1 (HFNC initial flow = 60 L/min, FiO2 = 0.6), intervention group 2 (HFNC initial flow = 40 L/min, FiO2 = 0.6), or control group (Venturi mask, FiO2 = 0.6). The primary outcome was occurrence of treatment failure. The baseline characteristics were similar. The hazard for treatment failure was lower in intervention group 1 vs. control (hazard ratio (HR): 0.11, 95% CI: 0.03–0.34) and intervention group 2 vs. control (HR: 0.30, 95% CI: 0.12–0.77). During follow-up, the probability of peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) > 92% and respiratory rate within 12–20 breaths/min was 2.4–3.9 times higher in intervention group 1 vs. the other 2 groups. There was no difference in PaO2/FiO2, patient comfort, intensive care unit or hospital stay, or clinical course complications or adverse events. In hypoxemic cardiac surgery patients, postextubation HFNC with an initial gas flow of 60 or 40 L/min resulted in less frequent treatment failure vs. conventional therapy. The results in terms of SpO2/respiratory rate targets favored an initial HFNC flow of 60 L/min.

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