title: Postoperative outcome in awake, on-pump, cardiac surgery patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Thoracic epidural anesthesia (TEA) alone or combined with general anesthesia (TEA-GA) has been assumed to improve early postoperative outcome in cardiac surgery. The aim of our study was to investigate data of early and late postoperative outcome results of awake TEA patients undergoing cardiac surgery with comparison to patients under combined and general anesthesia (GA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-seven patients undergoing elective on-pump cardiac surgery were assigned to receive either epidural (group TEA, n = 17), combined (group TEA-GA, n = 15), or general (group GA, n = 15) anesthesia. Early and late postoperative outcome data, including hospital and 3-year mortality rates, were recorded and compared among the study groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no major difference in early or late postoperative outcome data across all study groups, except for lower incidence of atrial fibrillation in the TEA group compared with the GA group (23.5% vs. 66.7%, respectively, P < 0.05). Also, TEA and TEA-GA groups compared with the GA group had lower pain visual analogue scale scores at 24 h postoperatively (4 ± 7, 6 ± 7, 14.7 ± 11, respectively, P < 0.05) and morphine requirements during the first 24 h after surgery (30 ± 6, 30 ± 6, 250 ± 140 μg/kg, respectively, P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on our data, all three anesthetic methods were equivalent in terms of major determinants of postoperative outcome, except for lower incidence of atrial fibrillation in awake patients compared with patients under general anesthesia. Methods using postoperative epidural analgesia provided superior pain relief.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, General Teaching Hospital, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, U Nemocnice 2, Prague 2, 128 08, Czech Republic. rizko@post.cz
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Porizka
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stritesky
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Semrad
authors.forename: Milos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dobias
authors.forename: Alena
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dohnalova
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000767:Anesthesia, Epidural / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000209:etiology; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D017558:Elective Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology; D011184:Postoperative Period; D016896:Treatment Outcome