Table 1 Baseline patients characteristics 

Patient characteristics

 Male sex

240 (71)

109 (60)

0.01

 Age, years

74 (72 – 77)

75 (72 – 78)

0.09

 BMI (kg∙m⁻²)

26.20 (24.20 – 28.70)

26.60 (24.42 – 30.10)

0.16

 EuroSCORE II

1.69 (1.21 – 2.91)

2.16 (1.39 – 3.66)

0.001

 Preoperative use of analgesics

  Acetaminophen

19 (6)

15 (8)

0.34

  NSAIDs

12 (4)

11 (6)

0.28

  Opioids

9 (3)

12 (7)

0.05

  Antidepressants

14 (4)

16 (9)

0.05

 Type of surgery

  Single CABG or maze

124 (37)

55 (30)

0.15

  Single valve

91 (27)

53 (29)

0.70

  Combined surgery

97 (29)

59 (32)

0.46

  Aortic surgery

24 (7)

15 (8)

0.78

  Duration of surgery, minutes

204 (163 – 250)

210 (168 – 258)

0.50

  Remifentanyl (microgram)

2000 (1502 – 2000)

2000 (1079 – 2000)

0.004

  Use of internal mammary artery

166 (49)

72 (40)

0.04

  Length of stay in the ICU, days

1 (1 – 2)

1 (1 – 3)

0.04

  Length of hospital stay, days

8 (7 – 12)

9 (7 – 15)

0.07

  Complication (re-thoracotomy)

15 (5)

13 (7)

0.28

Frailty domains

 Living alone

57 (18)

53 (29)

 < 0.01

 Lower education

77 (23)

53 (29)

0.15

 Polypharmacy

211 (63)

134 (74)

0.02

 Excessive polypharmacy

42 (13)

46 (25)

 < 0.001

 MMSE, points

29 (28 – 30)

29 (27 – 30)

0.37

 5 Meter walk test, seconds

4.6 (4.1 – 5.3)

4.9 (4.2 – 5.9)

 < 0.001

 Timed get up and go test, seconds

9.7 (8.5 – 11.2)

10.4 (8.7 – 12.8)

0.002

 Low grip strength

118 (35)

71 (39)

0.45

 Nagi’s scale, points

0 (0 – 1)

1 (0 – 2)

 < 0.001

 MNA, points

13 (12 – 14)

12.5 (11 – 14)

0.06

 Mental HRQL, points

53.1 (44.1 – 58.0)

47.9 (37.7 – 54.0)

 < 0.001

 Physical HRQL, points

44.6 (35.7 – 52.0)

41.0 (32.1 – 49.3)

0.005