Predictive value of Bispectral Index (BIS) in emergency neurosurgical patients: Loss of BIS reactivity to propofol predicts poor functional outcomes

Aim: In emergency neurosurgical patients, evaluation with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) alone immediately after stopping sedation post-operatively might not differentiate those with good recovery from those with poor outcomes at 3 months. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of measuring the Bispectral Index (BIS) and the correlation to propofol dosage during the use of sedation in the early post-operative period. Methods: This is a prospective study on consecutive post-operative neurosurgical patients admitted to the neurosurgical ICU on propofol sedation. The primary outcome was the correlation between early post-operative BIS and the Propofol dosage with the modified Rankin scale (mRS) at 3 months. Secondary outcomes included the post-operative propofol requirement in patients with good functional outcomes (mRS 0-3) versus poor functional outcomes (mRS 4-6) at 3 months. Results: In total, 728 BIS readings were collected from twenty-four patients for analysis. The BIS readings were significantly correlated to the propofol dosage in patients with good function outcomes at 3 months (p < 0.0001). BIS readings in patients with no associations to changes in propofol dosage during their ICU stay had poor outcomes (mRS 4-6) at 3 months (r = -0.0407). For patients with good functional outcomes at 3 months, a significantly higher propofol dosage was used for deep sedation (BIS 40 - 60) during the post-operative period (p < 0.001). Conclusion: For emergency neurosurgical patients whose BIS readings had lost correlation to the propofol dosage upon recovery, their functional outcomes at 3 months were poor. For those with good functional outcomes at 3 months, a significantly higher propofol dosage was required for deep sedation during their ICU stay. Patients with preserved correlation of BIS readings to changes in propofol dosages during the early post-operative period were associated with good functional outcomes at 3 months.

Automated summary

This study evaluates the prognostic value of measuring the Bispectral Index (BIS) and its correlation to propofol dosage in early post-operative sedation in neurosurgical patients. The results show a significant correlation between BIS readings and propofol dosage in the functional outcomes at 3 months.