title: On-pump coronary artery surgery versus off-pump exclusive arterial coronary grafting: a matched cohort comparison.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is unknown whether coronary artery bypass grafting without cardiopulmonary bypass and with exclusive use of arterial grafts (arterial off-pump CABG) offers any significant short-term advantages over standard CABG with cardiopulmonary bypass. Accordingly, we performed a comparison of the short-term outcomes of arterial off-pump and standard CABG patients matched for preoperative risk and number of grafts.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 90 consecutive arterial off-pump CABG patients during a 2-year period, obtained demographic and clinical features and surgical characteristics, and calculated their predicted surgical risk (EuroSCORE). Using a database of 750 contemporaneous patients treated with standard CABG, we created a matched cohort of 90 patients using an iterative process prioritizing number of grafts, target vessels, EuroSCORE, age, and sex. We compared the two groups for baseline features and short-term clinical outcomes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no differences in age (65.9 versus 64.7 years), sex, EuroSCORE (3.3 versus 3. 6), number of grafts (2.1 versus 2.1), and preoperative left ventricular function. Arterial off-pump CABG, however, was associated with decreased duration of operation (213 versus 252 minutes; p < 0.0013), decreased peak postoperative troponin I levels (mean, 10.8 versus 29.1 ng/mL; p < 0.0001), decreased peak norepinephrine dose (2.3 versus 4.1 microg/ min; p < 0.0082), and decreased likelihood of receiving red blood cell transfusion (17.8% versus 40%; p = 0.0016). There were no differences in duration of intensive care unit or hospital stay, incidence of atrial fibrillation, or other clinical complications. There was one death in each group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  After matching for number of grafts and other important preoperative risk markers, arterial off-pump CABG still decreases the need for red blood cell transfusion and offers other moderate clinical advantages compared with standard on-pump CABG.
authors.affiliation: Department of Intensive Care Medicine, University of Melbourne, Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haase
authors.forename: Anamika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fielitz
authors.forename: Shigehiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uchino
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rocktaeschel
authors.forename: Rinaldo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bellomo
authors.forename: Laurie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Doolan
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Matalanis
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rosalion
authors.forename: Brian F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Buxton
authors.forename: Jai S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Raman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D002315:Cardiopulmonary Bypass; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000097:blood; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D019210:Troponin I / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D019210:Troponin I; D009638:Norepinephrine