Risk factors for neurological complications in the late period after operations on the ascending aortic arch

OBJECTIVE To assess the risk factors for unfavorable neurological outcomes in the long-term follow-up periods (after 5 and 10 years) in patients undergoing planned operations on the ascending and arch of the aorta. MATERIAL AND METHODS The prospective study included 100 patients who were operated on at the FSBSI Petrovsky Russian Research Center of Surgery and were observed over a long period of time (up to 10 years). Patients of group I (n=50) underwent surgery on the aortic arch with antegrade cerebral perfusion and hypothermic circulatory arrest (26 °C). Patients of group II (n=50) underwent prosthetics of the ascending aorta with extracorporeal circulation with moderate hypothermia (32 °C). All patients performed cognitive tests before and after surgery, as well as 5 and 10 years after reconstruction. Possible risk factors were analyzed with respect to 3 expected negative consequences: postoperative delirium, neurocognitive dysfunction and long-term neurological disorders after 5 and 10 years of follow-up. RESULTS Long-term cognitive impairments were statistically significantly associated with the following predictors: age, baseline presence of mild cognitive impairment, episodes of intraoperative microembolism, episodes of decreased cerebral perfusion, and delirium. The presence of short-term cognitive impairments in the immediate postoperative period was a significant risk factor for detecting impairments 5 and 10 years after surgery. CONCLUSION For the possibility of preventing long-term unfavorable outcomes of the intellectual sphere, the main attention should be directed to the dynamics of the patient's neurological state in the immediate postoperative period.