Postoperative stupor and coma

To identify predictive factors for postoperative coma or stupor and to examine the value of neuroimaging techniques in elucidating structural brain damage.

We performed a case-control study of surgical patients admitted to a Mayo Clinic-affiliated hospital. We studied preoperative comorbidity, intraoperative hypotension, and postoperative data in patients with postoperative stupor or coma and compared the characteristics with control patients (surgical intensive care unit patients with neurologic consultations for other reasons).

A total of 35 patients with stupor or coma after surgery and 31 control patients participated in this study. Comatose patients were older (P=.004) and had significantly more presurgical comorbidity (P<.001), cardiovascular surgical procedures (P<.001), and intraoperative hypotension (P=.03). Adjusted for age and comorbidity, intraoperative hypotension remained statistically significant but not after adjusting for cardiovascular surgery. Of the 34 computed tomograms obtained, 41% showed abnormal results; of the 12 magnetic resonance images obtained, 58% showed abnormal results. Both showed primarily infarctions. In 4 patients with normal computed tomographic results, magnetic resonance imaging showed multiple territorial infarctions.

Prior comorbidity, older age, intraoperative hypotension, and cardiovascular surgery may predispose patients to postoperative coma. Widespread structural ischemic brain damage was often documented by neuroimaging. Metabolic causes for coma were uncommon.