Cognitive changes 5 years after coronary artery bypass grafting: is there evidence of late decline?

Objective: To determine the long-term (preoperative to 5 years postoperative) and late (1-5 years postoperative) changes in cognitive test performance in patients after coronary artery bypass grafting.

Setting: The departments of surgery and neurology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md.

Patients: A group of 102 patients who completed preoperative and follow-up cognitive testing up to 5 years after coronary artery bypass grafting.

Determinants of cognitive change after coronary artery bypass surgery: a multifactorial problem.

Background: Several studies have investigated predictors of cognitive decline after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), but there is little consensus as to which specific factors are predictive of poor cognitive outcomes.

Methods: We evaluated 127 patients undergoing CABG with standardized neuropsychological tests preoperatively, at 1 month and at 1 year. The outcome measure was a continuous variable reflecting change in z-scores for eight cognitive domains over time for individual patients.

Relation between CT scan findings and human sense of smell.

Symptom questionnaires were obtained from 106 patients immediately before nasal and sinus computed tomography scans at the Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center. Their scans were analyzed by two otolaryngologists and three neuroradiologists by using a semiobjective rating system of the size and opacity of 36 anatomic areas. Patients estimated their own left and right sense of smell as excellent, diminished, or absent.

Predictors of stroke risk in coronary artery bypass patients.

Background: Stroke occurs after coronary artery bypass grafting with an incidence ranging between 0.8% and 5.2%.

Cognitive outcome after coronary artery bypass: a one-year prospective study.

Background: Cognitive deficits have been reported in patients after coronary artery bypass grafting, but the incidence of these deficits varies widely. We studied prospectively the incidence of cognitive change and whether the changes persisted over time.

Methods: Cognitive testing was done preoperatively and 1 month and 1 year postoperatively in 127 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.