Effect of opium use on short-term outcome in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery.
OBJECTIVE
Data regarding the effect of opium use on short-term outcome in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery are limited. We sought to assess the morbidity and in-hospital mortality of current and past users compared the data with those from nonusers of opium after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).


METHODS
This is a descriptive analytical review of prospectively collected data on 782 consecutive male patients who underwent isolated CABG between January 2005 and December 2007. Of these, 708 (90.5%) were nonusers, 56 (7.1%) were current users, and 18 (2.3%) were former opium users of more than 4 weeks. The effect of opium usage on clinical, admission, and outcome variables were analyzed.


RESULTS
Current opium users were younger (P = 0.004) and more likely to be cigarette smokers (P = 0.0004). Other demographic characteristics, major coronary risk factors, rates of postoperative complications, intensive care unit readmission, postoperative length of stay, and in-hospital mortality did not differ among the three groups. Current opium users needed less analgesic postoperatively (P = 0.0001), were significantly less compliant with medical and dietary recommendations after discharge (P < 0.0001), and were more likely to be rehospitalized with cardiovascular causes within 6 months after CABG surgery; these differences were much more pronounced for nonusers versus current users of opium (P < 0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
Continued use of opium is a significant predictor of rehospitalization with a cardiac cause within 6 months of CABG surgery. This may be partly due to the low compliance of these patients with treatment recommendations.
Cardiovascular Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Daneshgah Street, Tabriz, 5166615573, Iran.
Nasser
N
Safaii
Babak
B
Kazemi
D000328:Adult; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000401:mortality; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D009892:Opium / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010359:Patient Readmission; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D009892:Opium