title: Temporal relationship of complications after coronary artery bypass graft surgery: scheduling for safe discharge.
abstract: The postoperative courses of 224 patients who left the operating room alive after coronary bypass surgery were followed to determine the time of onset of complications to determine when discharge is safe. A total of 155 complications occurred in 103 patients including 59 with supraventricular tachycardia, 17 with fever, and 9 to 11 with ventricular arrhythmias, cerebrovascular accidents, wound infection, or deep vein thrombosis. Pneumonia occurred in seven patients, and other complications occurred in five or fewer patients. Most initial complications (77.6%) occurred by day 5, and 89.3% of the patients with complications had their initial event before day 8. Hence it appears that it is safe to discharge patients on day 8 after coronary artery bypass graft surgery if they have not had a postoperative complication.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, St. Michael's Medical Center, Newark, NJ 07102.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Haft
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology; D002423:Cause of Death; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003422:Critical Care; D017558:Elective Surgical Procedures; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000209:etiology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010351:Patient Discharge; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000209:etiology; D013617:Tachycardia, Supraventricular / Q000209:etiology; D013997:Time Factors