Restricted versus liberal intraoperative benzodiazepine use in cardiac anaesthesia for reducing delirium (B-Free Pilot): a pilot, multicentre, randomised, cluster crossover trial

BACKGROUND: Delirium is common after cardiac surgery and is associated with adverse outcomes. Perioperative benzodiazepine use is associated with delirium and is common during cardiac surgery, which may increase the risk of postoperative delirium. We undertook a pilot study to inform the feasibility of a large randomised cluster crossover trial examining whether an institutional policy of restricted benzodiazepine administration during cardiac …