title: Comparison of endothelial function of coronary artery bypass grafts in diabetic and nondiabetic patients: Which graft offers the best?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Diabetes associated endothelial dysfunction, which determines both long and short term graft patency, is not uniform in all coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) grafts. Herein this study, we aimed to investigate the degree of endothelial dysfunction in diabetic radial artery (RA), internal mammarian artery (IMA) and saphenous vein (SV) grafts in vitro tissue bath system.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a prospective experimental study. Fifteen diabetic and 15 non-diabetic patients were included to the study. A total number of 96 graft samples were collected; 16 graft samples for each graft type from both diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Arterial grafts were harvested with pedicles and SV grafts were harvested by 'no touch' technique. Vasodilatation response of vascular rings to carbachol, which induces nitric oxide (NO) mediated vasodilatation, was designated as the measure of endothelial function.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The IMA grafts had the most prominent NO mediated vasodilatation in both diabetic and non-diabetic patients, concluding a better preserved endothelial function than SV and RA. The 'no- touch' SV and RA grafts had similar vasodilatation responses in non-diabetic patients. In diabetic patients, on the other hand, RA grafts exhibited the least vasodilatation response (ie. worst endothelial function), even less vasodilatation than 'no touch' SV grafts (p<0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Deteriorated function of RA grafts in diabetic patients, even worse than SV grafts made evident by this study, encourages the use of 'no touch' technique as the method of SV harvesting and more meticulous imaging of RA before its use as a graft in diabetic patients.
authors: Department of Cardiology, Tekirdağ State Hospital; Tekirdağ-Turkey. dozkarm@yahoo.com.
authors: Demet Özkaramanlı
authors: DÖ
authors: Gür
authors: Özcan
authors: Ö
authors: Gür
authors: Selami
authors: S
authors: Gürkan
authors: Selcem
authors: S
authors: Cömez
authors: Aylin
authors: A
authors: Gönültaş
authors: Murat
authors: M
authors: Yılmaz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular; D005260:Female; D006083:Graft Occlusion, Vascular / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D008323:Mammary Arteries; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017534:Radial Artery; D012501:Saphenous Vein