Portal Hypertension Is Associated With Congestive Encephalopathy and Delirium After Cardiac Surgery

Background: Venous congestion might lead to congestive encephalopathy after cardiac surgery. However, objective signs of congestion have yet to be associated with delirium. Portal vein flow pulsatility is a congestion marker that may identify a subgroup of patients at risk. Methods: We performed a retrospective study and a prospective study in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Adult patients who underwent portal vein Doppler imaging by the attending physician during usual care in the intensive care unit were included in the retrospective cohort. For the prospective cohort, patients had a cognitive and echocardiographic evaluation the day before surgery and daily for 3 days after surgery. Delirium was independently assessed by the nursing staff in the prospective cohort. Results: A total of 237 patients in the retrospective cohort and 145 patients in the prospective cohort were included, for whom 1074 portal Doppler evaluations were performed. An association was found between delirium and portal vein pulsatility in the retrospective cohort (odds ratio [OR], 2.69; confidence interval [CI], 1.47-4.90; P = 0.001). In the prospective cohort, significant associations were found between the presence of portal vein pulsatility and the development of cognitive dysfunction and asterixis assessed by the investigators (OR, 2.10; CI, 1.25-3.53; P = 0.005 and OR, 2.23; CI, 1.13; 4.41; P = 0.02, and delirium detected by the nursing staff (hazard ratio, 2.63; CI, 1.136.11; P = 0.025). Higher N-terminal pro-beta natriuretic peptide measurements (OR, 4.03; CI, 1.78-9.15; P = 0.001) and cerebral desaturations (OR, 2.54; CI, 1.12-5.76; P = 0.03) were associated with cognitive dysfunction. Conclusion: These data present an association among hepatic congestion, delirium, and encephalopathy in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Further studies should explore whether those neurological complications may have a congestive origin in some patients.