Cerebral autoregulation-based mean arterial pressure targets and delirium in critically ill adults without brain injury: a retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: Cerebral autoregulation (CA) is a mechanism that acts to maintain consistent cerebral perfusion across a range of blood pressures, and impaired CA is associated with delirium. Individualized CA-derived blood pressure targets are poorly characterized in critically ill patients and the association with intensive care unit (ICU) delirium is unknown. Our objectives were to characterize optimal mean arterial pressure (MAP) ranges in critically ill adults without brain injury and determine whether deviations from these targets contribute to ICU delirium.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of patients with shock of any etiology and/or respiratory failure requiring invasive mechanical ventilation, without a neurologic admitting diagnosis. Patients were screened daily for delirium. Cerebral oximetry and mean arterial pressure data were captured for the first 24 hr from enrolment.

Results: Forty-two patients with invasive blood pressure monitoring data were analyzed. Optimal mean arterial pressure targets ranged from 55 to 100 mm Hg. Optimal mean arterial pressure values were not significantly different based on history of hypertension or delirium status, and delirium was not associated with deviations from MAP. Nevertheless, the majority (69%) of blood pressure targets exceeded the current 65 mm Hg Surviving Sepsis guidelines.

Conclusion: We observed that MAP targets across patients were highly variable, but did not observe an association with the incidence of delirium. Studies designed to evaluate the impact on neurologic outcomes are needed to understand the association with individualized mean arterial pressure targets in the ICU.

Study Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02344043); first submitted 22 January 2015.