Decreasing the Incidence of Delirium After Cardiac Surgery
Status:
Withdrawn
Trial end date:
2017-08-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
In critically ill surgical patients, delirium (confusion and disorientation) is extremely
common and is associated with longer hospital length of stay, mortality, cost, and long term
cognitive impairment. The goal of the study is to establish whether benzodiazepines (a
sedative, anti-anxiety drug) should be used as part of standard of care or be eliminated by
comparing the chances of delirium in cardiac surgery patients between two groups: a group
that receives benzodiazepines during surgery versus a group that does not receive
benzodiazepines during surgery. Benzodiazepines have historically been used in cardiac
anesthesia to decrease the risk of anesthesia awareness. The current standard of care is to
keep the patient on inhaled anesthesia throughout the surgery which eliminates the need for
intraoperative use of benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines are still used based on practitioner
preference. Findings of this study will allow all anesthesiologists to make more informed
decisions about what level of care our patients need.