Lack of correlation between smoking status and early postoperative outcome following valve surgery.
BACKGROUND
We sought to assess the effect of smoking on early outcome following valve surgery.


METHODS
This is a retrospective review of a prospectively collected departmental database of all patients who underwent isolated aortic and/or mitral valve surgery (replacement and/or repair). Our cohort consisted of 590 patients stratified into three groups: current smokers (n = 94), ex-smokers (n = 243), and nonsmokers (n = 253).


RESULTS
There were no significant differences in the in-hospital mortality between the three groups. Likewise, the length of both hospital and intensive care unit stays were similar among the three groups with a similar rate of postoperative complications. These findings remained statistically not significant, even after adjusting for potential confounders such as age, gender, etc.


CONCLUSIONS
Smoking does not seem to be associated with an increased early postoperative risk in patients undergoing valve surgery. However, because of the known effect of smoking on the risk of cardiovascular disease and because the effect of smoking on long-term survival in patients undergoing valve surgery remains unknown, patients should still be encouraged to quit smoking.
Al-Sarraf
N
N
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, St. James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. trinityq8@hotmail.com
Thalib
L
L
Hughes
A
A
Tolan
M
M
Young
V
V
McGovern
E
E
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006351:Heart Valves / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult