title: Off pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery versus conventional coronary artery bypass graft surgery: a systematic review of the literature.
abstract: The recent development of off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) graft surgical techniques has led to numerous observational and several randomized trials that have investigated outcomes compared with the current gold standard of conventional on-pump coronary bypass (CCAB) graft surgery. This systematic review assesses the current randomized trials that compare OPCAB and CCAB. Numerous end points were investigated, including mortality, stroke, myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, blood transfusions, wound infections, and renal failure. In addition to these important outcomes, resource utilization markers were also examined such as hospital length of stay, intensive care unit length of stay, and duration of intubation/ventilation. Finally, when level I evidence from randomized trials was unavailable, level II evidence was examined. This was done for subgroup analysis, where currently no randomized trials exist, looking at OPCAB in high-risk patients. Recommendations were made as to who should receive OPCAB and the potential benefits in this patient population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesia & Perioperative Medicine, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Bainbridged@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bainbridge
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Davy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D047549:Coronary Artery Bypass, Off-Pump; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome