Retrospective analysis of a 6-month follow up within a randomised controlled study in cardiac surgery with pharmacological postconditioning (sedation on intensive care unit with sevoflurane)

Introduction: In a recent randomized controlled (RCT; NCT00924222) trial the investigators demonstrated in 102 patients that late post-conditioning with sevoflurane performed in the intensive care unit (ICU) reduced myocardial injury. These patients presented with lower troponin T values on the first post-operative day compared with patients undergoing propofol sedation. In order to assess possible clinical relevant long-term implications in patients enrolled in this study, the current retrospective analysis is performed focusing on cardiac and non-cardiac events during the first six months after surgery.

Methods: All patients who had successfully completed the late post-conditioning trial were included in this follow-up. Primary and secondary endpoints were the proportion of patients experiencing cardiac and non-cardiac events, respectively. Additionally, therapeutic interventions such as initiation or change of drug therapy, interventional treatment or surgery were assessed.

All patients who had successfully completed the late post-conditioning trial were included in this retrospective follow-up analysis. Written and informed consent of all patients included in the first study had to be available.

All patients who had successfully completed the late postconditioning trial (NCT00924222) were included in this retrospective follow-up analysis.