Journal article

Infectious Complications after Etomidate vs. Propofol for Induction of General Anesthesia in Cardiac Surgery-Results of a Retrospective, before-after Study


Authors listWeiss, Bjoern; Schiefenhoevel, Fridtjof; Grunow, Julius J.; Krueger, Michael; Spies, Claudia D.; Menk, Mario; Kruppa, Jochen; Grubitzsch, Herko; Sander, Michael; Treskatsch, Sascha; Balzer, Felix

Publication year2021

JournalJournal of Clinical Medicine

Volume number10

Issue number13

eISSN2077-0383

Open access statusGold

DOI Linkhttps://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10132908

PublisherMDPI


Abstract
Background: Etomidate is typically used as an induction agent in cardiac surgery because it has little impact on hemodynamics. It is a known suppressor of adrenocortical function and may increase the risk for post-operative infections, sepsis, and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether etomidate increases the risk of postoperative sepsis (primary outcome) and infections (secondary outcome) compared to propofol. Methods: This was a retrospective before-after trial (IRB EA1/143/20) performed at a tertiary medical center in Berlin, Germany, between 10/2012 and 01/2015. Patients undergoing cardiac surgery were investigated within two observation intervals, during which etomidate and propofol were the sole induction agents. Results: One-thousand, four-hundred, and sixty-two patients, and 622 matched pairs, after caliper propensity-score matching, were included in the final analysis. Sepsis rates did not differ in the matched cohort (etomidate: 11.5% vs. propofol: 8.2%, p = 0.052). Patients in the etomidate interval were more likely to develop hospital-acquired pneumonia (etomidate: 18.6% vs. propofol: 14.0%, p = 0.031). Conclusion: Our study showed that a single-dose of etomidate is not statistically associated with higher postoperative sepsis rates after cardiac surgery, but is associated with a higher incidence of hospital-acquired pneumonia. However, there is a notable trend towards a higher sepsis rate.



Citation Styles

Harvard Citation styleWeiss, B., Schiefenhoevel, F., Grunow, J., Krueger, M., Spies, C., Menk, M., et al. (2021) Infectious Complications after Etomidate vs. Propofol for Induction of General Anesthesia in Cardiac Surgery-Results of a Retrospective, before-after Study, Journal of Clinical Medicine, 10(13), Article 2908. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10132908

APA Citation styleWeiss, B., Schiefenhoevel, F., Grunow, J., Krueger, M., Spies, C., Menk, M., Kruppa, J., Grubitzsch, H., Sander, M., Treskatsch, S., & Balzer, F. (2021). Infectious Complications after Etomidate vs. Propofol for Induction of General Anesthesia in Cardiac Surgery-Results of a Retrospective, before-after Study. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 10(13), Article 2908. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10132908



Keywords


cardiac anesthesiaetomidatePROPOFOL

Last updated on 2025-10-06 at 11:27