title: Horner's syndrome after coronary artery bypass surgery.
abstract: We established the frequency of Horner's syndrome (HS) in 248 elective patients after coronary artery bypass surgery. Patients were evaluated neurologically pre- and post-operatively and 6 months after surgery. Nineteen patients (7.7%) developed unilateral HS postoperatively, 12 involving the left eye. The finding persisted in 10 patients (4%) at 6 months. When assessed 2 to 6 days, or 6 months, postoperatively, HS tended to be isolated and not associated with C8/T1 plexopathy. Among nondiabetic subjects, hypertensive patients had a higher frequency of HS than normotensive patients (10.6% versus 2.9%, p = 0.05). Among normotensive subjects, diabetic patients had a higher frequency than nondiabetic patients (15% versus 2.9%, p = 0.08). There was no association between HS, age, sex, internal mammary artery grafting, or length of cardiopulmonary bypass time. In summary, HS is a common and sometimes persistent complication of coronary artery bypass surgery. Hypertensive, and possibly diabetic, patients appear to be at greatest risk for developing HS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Cornell University Medical College, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Barbut
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Gold
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Heinemann
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Hinton
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Trifiletti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006732:Horner Syndrome / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors