Long-term cognitive decline after coronary artery bypass grafting: is off-pump surgery beneficial?

The primary endpoint of the present study is cognitive outcome at five years after surgery. Patients will undergo a battery of ten neuropsychologic tests five years after operation. The tests will be administered by a trained psychologist blinded for treatment allocation. Each individual’s performance on the neuropsychologic tests will be compared to his or her performance on the same tests five years earlier, on the day before operation. In accordance to the Statement of Consensus on Assessment of Neurobehavioral Outcomes after Cardiac Surgery the test battery includes tests for motor skills, verbal memory capacity and attention. The principal outcome measure is cognitive decline, defined as a decrease in an individual’s performance of at least 20 percent from baseline, in at least 20 percent of the tests.

1. Quality of life at five years, assessed with the EuroQol10 and ShortForm-3611 questionnaires
2. The occurence of cardiovascular events i.e. mortality, stroke, myocardial infarction and coronary reintervention. Stroke is defined as focal brain injury, detected by standard neurologic examination, persisting for more than 24 hours, combined with an increase in handicap of at least one grade on the Rankin Scale; Myocardial infarction is considered present when two of the following criteria are met: chest discomfort lasting at least 30 minutes, CK-MB/CK ratio >0.1, and the development of abnormal new Q-waves in the electrocardiogram.
3. Anginal status at five years, defined according to the Canadian Cardiovascular Society and Braunwald classification
4. Use of antianginal medication at five years (Beta-blockers, nitrates or calcium entry-blockers)