Postoperative Cerebral Dysfunction in Cardiac Aortic Valve Replacement

Study Objective: To study the incidence and the structure of the postoperative cerebral dysfunction after open and endovascular aortic valve replacement surgery, and to identify the risk factors and the methods of prevention of postoperative cerebral dysfunction after the open aortic valve replacement surgery.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Materials and Methods. The study involved 114 patients (92 men and 22 women) aged 67 [58; 76] years, who undergone elective aortic valve replacement surgery. All patients were divided into three groups: “open surgery” (n = 82), “cerebroprotection” (n = 16) and “X-ray surgery” (n = 16). In the “open surgery” and “cerebroprotection” groups, patients undergo open aortic valve replacement surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass, in the “X-ray surgery” group transcatheter aortic valve implantation is performed. In the “cerebroprotection” group patients additionally received the 1.5% solution of meglumine sodium succinate in the early postoperative period.

Study Results. The postoperative cerebral dysfunction was diagnosed in 41.2% of patients, the incidence of the postoperative cerebral dysfunction did not differ in the study groups. In the group “cerebroprotection” there was a shorter duration of symptomatic delirium of the early postoperative period (p = 0.0441) compared with the group “open surgery”. We identified 18 risk factors for postoperative cerebral dysfunction and its clinical types and two cerebroprotective factors — a body mass index more than 25 kg/m² and the use of the meglumine sodium succinate in the early postoperative period.

Conclusion. Aortic valve replacement surgery is characterized by the high incidence of the postoperative cerebral dysfunction, further improvement of the methods of the perioperative cerebroprotection is required.

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