Neurocognitive impairment and driving performance after coronary artery bypass surgery.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
Neurocognitive impairment is common after cardiac surgery but few studies have examined the relationship between postoperative neuropsychological test performance and everyday behavior. The influence of postoperative cognitive impairment on car driving has previously not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate neurocognitive function and driving performance after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

METHODS:
Twenty-seven patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting with standard cardiopulmonary bypass technique and 20 patients scheduled for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) under local anesthesia (control group) were enrolled in this prospective study conducted from April 1999 to September 2000. Complete data were obtained in 23 and 19 patients, respectively. The patients underwent neuropsychological examination with a test battery including 12 tests, a standardized on-road driving test and a test in an advanced driving simulator before and 4-6 weeks after intervention.

RESULTS:
More patients in the coronary artery bypass grafting group (n=11, 48%) than in the percutaneous coronary intervention group (n=2, 10%) showed a cognitive decline after intervention (P=0.01). In the on-road driving test, patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting deteriorated after surgery in the cognitive demanding parts like traffic behavior (P=0.01) and attention (P=0.04). Patients who underwent percutaneous intervention deteriorated in maneuvering of the vehicle (P=0.04). No deterioration was detected in the simulator in any of the groups after intervention. Patients with a cognitive decline after intervention also tended to drop in the on-road driving scores to a larger extent than did patients without a cognitive decline.

CONCLUSION:
This study indicates that cognitive functions important for safe driving may be influenced after cardiac surgery.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Ahlgren, Ewa (E); Lundqvist, Anna (A); Nordlund, Anders (A); Aren, Claes (C); Rutberg, Hans (H);

Affiliation: Heart Center, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University Hospital, 581 85 Linköping, Sweden. ewa.ahlgren(-atsign-)lio.se

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery (Eur J Cardiothorac Surg), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-Mar; vol 23 (issue 3) : pp 334-40

Dates: Created 2003/03/04; Completed 2003/07/03; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12614803, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Aged
Angioplasty, Transluminal, Percutaneous Coronary
Automobile Driving
Cognition Disorders - etiology
Coronary Artery Bypass - psychology; rehabilitation
Female

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.