Association of Oral Intake and Transient Mixed Venous Oxygen Desaturation in Patients Undergoing Fast-Track Postoperative Care After Open-Heart Surgery.

Objective: The impact of early resumption of oral intake after cardiac surgery on hemodynamics has not been characterized. The authors examined the effects of early oral intake on the oxygen supply-demand relationship in patients undergoing on-pump cardiac surgery in an early recovery after surgery program.

Design: Prospective data were collected in postcardiac surgical patients in a multidisciplinary intensive care unit (ICU) during an 18-month period.