Frequency of Delirium Associated with Dexmedetomidine and Propofol in Post CABG Patients: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Objective: To find out the frequency of delirium associated with peri-operative use of dexmetedomidine and propofol in post CABG patients.
 Study Design: Comparative Cross-sectional study.
 Place and Duration of Study: Adult Intensive Care unit, Department of Cardiac Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Armed Force Institute of Cardiology, Rawalpindi Pakistan from Feb to Jun 2022.
 Methodology: All post CABG patients who have undergone elective surgery were included through non-probability consecutive sampling technique. All the delirious patients amongst them were subjected to a modified version of ICU-CAM to establish post-operative delirium (POD) caused by either dexmedetomidine or propofol. POD in both the category of patients was compared.
 Results: A total of 179 CABG patients were included in our study. 140(78.2%) of the patients were subjected to the use of dexmedetomidine throughout their surgery while 39(21.8%) of the patients were given propofol. After subjecting the patients to our exclusion criteria which aimed to eliminate the confounding causes of POD in post-CABG patients, only 30(16.8%) had delirium while 149(83.2%) didn’t develop delirium (p-value=0.003). Majority of the delirious patients were given dexmedetomidine (n=29; 20.77%) in the operation theatre while only a fraction (n=1; 2.58%) were given propofol. Average duration of ICU stay in our study population was 5 days. 15(8.4%) cases out of our total study population underwent reintubation and re-ventilation because of low cardiac output or respiratory distress.
 Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine could possibly be associated with POD in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Propofol on the other hand is considerably safe in this regard and doesn’t cause POD.