Implication of early extubation after cardiac surgery for postoperative rehabilitation

Postoperative rehabilitation after cardiac surgery is based on medical-surgical management in order to reduce the lenght of stay in hospital and the costs of this high risk surgery. Early tracheal extubation (within the first 6 hours) is the cornerstone of fast-track surgery. Our study aimed to evaluate fast-track practice and early tracheal extubation in scheduled cardiac surgery for adult patients in our Institution. We conducted a descriptive study including all patients aged over 18 years who consecutively had undergone scheduled cardiac surgery and postoperative treatment in the post-operative intensive care unit in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the Habib Bourguiba University Hospital, Sfax. Inclusion criteria were: patients aged 18 years and older who had undergone scheduled cardiac surgery and postoperative treatment in the post-operative intensive care unit in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Standardized anaesthetic protocol was used in all cases: propofol, remifentanil, cisatracrium. We recorded the mean postoperative extubation time and the factors affecting extubation time. We collected data from 200 patients who consecutively had undergone scheduled cardiac surgery. Among these patients, 115 underwent coronary artery bypass surgery, 79 valvular surgery and 6 combined surgery or another surgical procedure. Patients' demographic characteristics were comparable. 152 patients (76%) underwent postoperative extubation within the first 6 hours. 48 patients couldn't be extubated within the FIrst 6 hours. The main causes of early extubation failure were: catecholamines in high doses, bleeding, arrhythmia and neurological disorders. Our study demonstrates that postoperative rehabilitation can be performed in our Institution and that all patients undergoing scheduled cardiac surgery should be candidates for early extubation.