Causes of Cerebral Desaturation during Cardiac Surgery

The causes of cerebral desaturation during cardiac surgery is likely multifactorial, involving many patient-specific comorbidities or clinical scenarios that influence the balance between cerebral oxygen supply and demand. The most common factors leading to cerebral desaturation can be categorized as contributing to one of three processes that lead to imbalances between cerebral oxygen supply and demand: 

• Limited cerebral blood supply 
• Inadequate oxygen content 
• Unmet cerebral metabolic demand 

Without real-time recognition and intervention to eliminate such imbalances, hypoxic/ischemic injury may result.

Cerebral oxygenation and perfusion can be monitored continuously and noninvasively during cardiac surgery utilizing the INVOS™ cerebral/somatic oximeter. In the event of cerebral desaturation, several interventions are possible for clinicians to correct a decrease in rSO2 values. These interventions target the optimization of those mechanisms that influence cerebral blood supply, inadequate oxygen content, and unmet cerebral metabolic demand.