title: Safety and efficacy of off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We evaluated the application of the off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) procedure relative to safety and efficiency as measured by operative mortality postoperative complications and longitudinal outcome.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred and fifty OPCAB patients were compared to 3,171 on-pump or conventional coronary artery bypass (CCAB) patients between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 1998. The groups were divided into three preoperative predicted risk categories: low-risk (0 to 2.59%), medium-risk (2.6 to 9.9%), and high-risk (> or =10%). Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Cardiac Surgery Database definitions and predicted risk group models were utilized to compare all preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative variables using univariate analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall comparison of the immediate outcome of CCAB and OPCAB shows little statistical significance in the variables analyzed. The operative mortality was 3.4% in both groups. When the immediate outcome was compared between groups (CCAB vs OPCAB), as well as individual risk groups (low, medium, and high), similar patterns of operative variables and postoperative complications were observed. The operative mortality in the low-risk group was 1.1% for CCAB and 1.4% for OPCAB; 7% for CCAB and 6% for OPCAB in the medium-risk group; and in the high-risk group 28.5% for CCAB compared to 7.7% for OPCAB group (p = 0.008). Short-term follow-up shows a trend of increased recurring angina and reinterventional procedures in the OPCAB patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Safety for OPCAB is assessed through retrospective data review. Longitudinal follow-up for survival, reintervention, and quality of postoperative document efficacy and patency rates, compared to on-pump procedures, is mandatory. This study documented the immediate safety of the OPCAB procedure. Preliminary findings at 1-year follow-up is an important finding in this study, but it is not conclusive at this time. Long-term longitudinal follow-up is required to assess the future effectiveness of OPCAB.
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Surgical Associates, PA, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407, USA. karom@csa-heart.com
authors.forename: K V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Arom
authors.forename: T F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Flavin
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Emery
authors.forename: V R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Kshettry
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Janey
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Petersen
mesh_terms: D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome