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[Anesthesia and intensive care in cardiac surgery. Activity at the French centers in 1982]
Insights
French hospitals surveyed cardiac surgery practices in 1982. Findings reveal varied monitoring, with neuroleptanalgesia as the preferred anesthesia for cardiac surgery patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Anesthesiology
- Intensive Care Medicine
Background:
- Cardiac surgery practices, including anesthesia and intensive care, were not standardized across French hospitals in 1982.
- A significant number of cardiac surgical procedures, both with and without cardiopulmonary bypass, were performed annually.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the current practices in anesthesia and surgical intensive care for cardiac surgery in French hospitals.
- To identify trends and variations in patient monitoring and anesthetic techniques used in cardiac surgery.
Main Methods:
- A national survey was conducted in French hospitals.
- Data collected included the number of surgical procedures (with and without cardiopulmonary bypass), patient demographics (adults, children, infants), and types of surgery.
- Information on postoperative care supervision, intensive care unit (ICU) stay duration, patient monitoring methods, and anesthetic techniques was gathered.
Main Results:
- In 1982, 15,797 cardiac surgical procedures with cardiopulmonary bypass and 2,554 without were recorded.
- Coronary surgery represented 46% of all procedures.
- Postoperative care was primarily managed by anesthesiologists. ICU length of stay correlated inversely with unit activity. Monitoring lacked consensus, with only 18% utilizing Swan-Ganz catheters. Neuroleptanalgesia was the most common anesthetic technique.
Conclusions:
- Significant variability existed in cardiac surgery anesthesia and intensive care practices in France.
- There was a lack of standardized patient monitoring protocols, highlighting a need for evidence-based guidelines.
- Neuroleptanalgesia was the predominant anesthetic approach, suggesting a preference for this technique in the surveyed centers.
Abstract:
A national survey was carried out to inquire about the practice of anaesthesia and surgical intensive care in cardiac surgery in French hospitals. In 1982, 15,797 surgical procedures with cardiopulmonary bypass were collected; 1,360 and 555 were performed in children and infants respectively. Coronary surgery accounted for 46% of the total. For the same time interval, 2,554 operations without cardiopulmonary bypass were done. Postoperative care was supervised by anaesthesiologists in most of the French centres. The duration of stay of patients in intensive care units increased as the unit's activity decreased. With the exception of arterial blood pressure monitoring, there was no consensus on the method or the extent of monitoring of patients undergoing cardiac surgery. A Swan-Ganz catheter was only used in 18% of cases. Neuroleptanalgesia was the anaesthetic technique most often used.