Volatile anesthetics reduce mortality in cardiac surgery.
OBJECTIVE
A recent meta-analysis suggested that volatile anesthetics reduce postoperative mortality after cardiac surgery. Nonetheless, whether volatile anesthetics improve the outcome of cardiac surgical patients is still a matter of debate. The authors investigated whether the use of volatile anesthetics reduces mortality in cardiac surgery. DESIGN, SETTING, AND INTERVENTIONS: A longitudinal study of 34,310 coronary artery bypass graft interventions performed in Italy estimated the risk-adjusted mortality ratio for each center. A survey was conducted among these centers to investigate whether the use of volatile anesthetics showed a correlation with mortality.


RESULTS
All 64 eligible centers provided the required data. The median unadjusted 30-day mortality among participating centers was 2.2% (0.3-8.8), whereas the median risk-adjusted 30-day mortality was 1.8% (0.1-7.2). Risk-adjusted analysis showed that the use of volatile anesthetics was associated with a significantly lower rate of risk-adjusted 30-day mortality (beta = -1.172 [-2.259, -0.085], R(2) = 0.070, p = 0.035). Dichotomization into centers using volatile anesthetics in at least 25% of their cases or in less than 25% yielded even more statistically significant results (p = 0.003). Furthermore, a longer use of volatile anesthetics was associated with a significantly lower death rate (p = 0.022); and exploring the impact of the specific volatile anesthetic agent, the use of isoflurane was associated with significant reductions in risk-adjusted mortality rates (p = 0.039).


CONCLUSIONS
This survey among 64 Italian centers shows that risk-adjusted mortality may be reduced by the use of volatile agents in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
Bignami
Elena
E
Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy.
Biondi-Zoccai
Giuseppe
G
Landoni
Giovanni
G
Fochi
Oliviero
O
Testa
Valentina
V
Sheiban
Imad
I
Giunta
Francesco
F
Zangrillo
Alberto
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality*; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation