ArticleAorta (Stamford, Conn.)2021
Does Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest for Aortic Surgery Trigger Near-Death Experience? Incidence of Near-Death Experiences after Aortic Surgeries Performed under Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest.
Article in Aorta (Stamford, Conn.), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- The intertwining of death and life: a hermeneutic phenomenological investigation of near-death experiences among coma survivors.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- A neuroscientific model of near-death experiences.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2025Review
- The central clinical relevance of near-death experiences in acute care contexts: identification, prediction, and management.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Consciousness and the Dying Brain.Anesthesiology · 2024Review
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundUnderstanding near-death experiences (NDE) could provide a new insight into the analysis of human consciousness and the neurocognitive processes happening upon the approach of death. With a temporary interruption of systemic perfusion, aortic surgery under hypothermic circulatory arrest (HCA) may be the only available model of reversible clinical death. We present, herein, the results of an observational study designed to assess the incidence of NDE after aortic surgery.
methodsWe performed a prospective study including consecutive patients who underwent thoracic aortic surgery between July 2018 and September 2019 at our institution. Procedures without HCA were included to constitute a control group. The primary outcome was the incidence of NDE assessed with the Greyson NDE scale during the immediate postoperative course, via a standardized interview of the patients in the surgical ward.
resultsOne hundred and one patients were included. Twenty-one patients (20.8%) underwent nonelective interventions for aortic dissection. Ninety-one patients had hemiarch replacement (90.1%). Sixty-seven (66.3%) interventions were performed with HCA, with an average circulatory arrest duration of 26.9 ± 25.5 minutes, and a mean body temperature of 23.7 ± 3.8°C. None of the patients reported any recollection from their period of unconsciousness. There was no NDE experiencer in the study cohort.
conclusionSeveral confounding factors regarding anesthesia, or NDE evaluation, might have impaired the chance of NDE recollections, and might have contributed to this negative result. Whether HCA may trigger NDE remains unknown.
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