INTRODUCTION: Neurological dysfunction is a feared postoperative morbidity of cardiac surgery, an important cause of death and increased spending in hospitals. Its prediction, however, is still uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To assess the applicability of a preoperative score as a predictor of neurological dysfunction after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). METHODS: Prospective study that evaluated 77 patients who underwent CABG from February to October 2011. Using the score CABDEAL (creatinine, age, body mass index, diabetes, emergency surgery, abnormality on ECG, lung disease), patients were grouped into high (CABDEAL > 4) and low risk (CABDEAL<4). The predictive value of the score was compared with intraoperative and postoperative variables (aortic clamping time, CPB and ventilation time) as predictors of encephalopathy and stroke. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and compared with the Fisher exact test. ROC curve analysis was performed to evaluate the accuracy of the model for the neurological outcomes. It was considered the significant value P<0.05. RESULTS: The mortality rate was 2.6% (n=2). There were 2 episodes of stroke (2.6%) and 12 (15.5%) of encephalopathy. High risk CABDEAL (P=0.0009), ventilation time (P=0.014), CPB time (P=0.02) and aortic clamping time (P=0.006) were significantly associated with encephalopathy. The aortic clamping time was also associated with stroke (P=0.03) and death (P=0.006). CABDEAL score showed the largest area under the ROC curve rather than others variables. CONCLUSION: In this study, the CABDEAL score stood out as the best predictor of encephalopathy after CABG when compared to the others intraoperative variables.
Myocardial revascularization; Risk assessment; Morbidity; Brain damage
