title: Risks and benefits of giving early Aspirin within 6 hours of CABG: A retrospective analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Antiplatelet drugs are frequently used after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery to prevent venous graft occlusion. The fear of bleeding complications prevents them to be given early post operatively, which is the time when antiplatelets use confers maximum benefit. Our objective was to determine the effect and influence of early aspirin therapy on fatal and nonfatal bleeding complications and blood requirements after coronary bypass surgery (CABG).
  
  
  METHODS
  The patients who only underwent coronary artery bypass surgery for the first time in the past three years and did not have any bleeding diathesis were retrospectively analyzed from the cardiac surgery database of CPEIC Multan. The patients either received aspirin within six hours of CABG or had it given after 12 hours. The patients were analyzed for mean blood loss and number of blood units transfused. SPSS was used for statistical analysis. P value < 0.05 was considered significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total 281 patients received aspirin within six hours while 326 patients did not. Mean blood loss in early aspirin group was 727ml as compared to 767ml in the other group (p value 0.74). The median number of blood units transfused was 2 (p value 0.98). Our results did not show any statistical difference in both the groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Aspirin can safely be given early after CABG without the fear of bleeding complications thus conferring the advantage of increased graft patency.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Muhammad Yasir Khan, MCPS, FCPS, FCPS, MRCS. Department of Cardiac Surgery, Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi Institute of Cardiology, Multan, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad Yasir
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Dr. Adnan Zafar Khan, MBBS, MSc. Health economics. Department of Health Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Adnan Zafar
authors.initials: AZ
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Prof. Anjum Jalal, FRCS, FCPS (CS), FRCS Cth. Department of Cardiac Surgery, Institute of Cardiology Faisalabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Anjum
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jalal
authors.affiliation: Prof. Haider Zaman, FCPS, FRCS Cth. Department of Cardiac Surgery, Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi Institute of Cardiology, Multan, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Haider
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zaman
keywords: Antiplatelet drugs; Aspirin; Coronary artery bypass surgery