Ultra-fast-track anesthetic technique facilitates operating room extubation in patients undergoing off-pump coronary...

To determine if implementation of ultra-fast-track anesthetic (UFTA) technique facilitates operating room extubation in patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

Retrospective review.

Referral center for cardiovascular surgery at a university hospital.

Thirty-seven patients undergoing off-pump CABG surgery.

Two groups represented UFTA (n = 10) and standard anesthetic (controls, n = 27) techniques. Anesthesia was conducted with propofol, remifentanil, vecuronium, and thoracic epidural analgesia in the UFTA group and thiopental, fentanyl, pancuronium, and isoflurane in the control group. Active temperature control was an integral part of the UFTA technique but not the standard technique. The active temperature control included intravenous fluid warmer, prewarmed skin preparation, humidified inspired gases, a circulating water warming blanket, and a forced-air warmer, along with the maintenance of the operating room temperature at 24 degrees C. The control group was managed with an intravenous fluid warmer, and the ambient temperature remained constant (20 degrees C). Patients who did not satisfy extubation criteria within 30 minutes from the end of surgery were sedated and transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU).

All patients in the UFTA group and 2 in the control group were extubated in the operating room immediately after surgery. None of the patients required reintubation. There was no significant difference in postextubation PaO(2) and PaCO(2) between the groups. Nasopharyngeal temperature decreased from 36.7 +/- 0.4 degrees C to 36.4 +/- 0.3 degrees C in the UFTA group and from 36.6 +/- 0.5 degrees C to 35.6 +/- 0.4 degrees C in the control group (p < 0.0001). Bradycardia occurred significantly more often in the UFTA group but there was no difference in episodes of hypotension. There were no perioperative deaths. Patients who were extubated in the operating room required lower nurse-to-patient acuity ratio (1:2) in the ICU. No difference was found in ICU and hospital length of stay.

Implementation of UFTA technique provided adequate hemodynamic control and facilitated operating room extubation in all patients. The impact of UFTA on earlier patient discharge and actual cost savings within a fully integrated post-cardiac surgery unit requires further evaluation.