Suitability and durability of multiple internal thoracic artery coronary artery bypasses

Surgical site infection: incidence and impact on hospital utilization and treatment costs

BACKGROUND

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are serious operative complications that occur in approximately 2% of surgical procedures and account for some 20% of health care-associated infections.

METHODS

SSI was identified based on the presence of ICD-9-CM diagnosis code 998.59 in hospital discharge records for 7 categories of surgical procedures: neurological; cardiovascular; colorectal; skin, subcutaneous tissue, and breast; gastrointestinal; orthopedic; and obstetric and gynecologic. Source of data was the 2005 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample (HCUP NIS). Primary study outcomes were rate of SSI by surgical category and impact of SSI on length of stay and cost. Results were projected to the national level.

RESULTS

Among 723,490 surgical hospitalizations in the sample, 6891 cases of SSI were identified (1%). On average, SSI extended length of stay by 9.7 days while increasing cost by $20,842 per admission. From the national perspective, these cases of SSI were associated with an additional 406,730 hospital-days and hospital costs exceeding $900 million. An additional 91,613 readmissions for treatment of SSI accounted for a further 521,933 days of care at a cost of nearly $700 million.

CONCLUSION

SSI is associated with a significant economic burden in terms of extended length of stay and increased costs of treatment. Our analysis documented nearly 1 million additional inpatient-days and $1.6 billion in excess costs.

Using the Bilateral Internal Mammary Artery in the Left or Right Coronary Artery System: 5-Year Comparison of Operation Techniques and Angiographic Results

OBJECTIVE

Using the bilateral internal mammary artery (IMA) in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery has prolonged survival, improved functional capacity, and reduced the rate of reintervention without increasing postoperative early morbidity and mortality.

METHODS

Between January 1996 and December 1997, 94 CABG operations were performed using the bilateral IMA. In Group A (n = 45), the right IMA was anastomosed to the left coronary artery system; in Group B (n = 49), the right IMA was anastomosed to the right coronary artery system. The left IMA was always anastomosed to the left coronary artery system in both groups.

RESULTS

There was 1 death (Group A) (1.06%), and 1 late death (Group B) (1.07%). One patient in Group A underwent balloon angioplasty, and 1 patient in Group B underwent reoperation after the follow-up. Pre- and postoperative data were similar between both groups, except for off-pump CABG, which was higher in Group B (2.2% versus 36.7%; P <.001). Twenty-three randomized patients in each group underwent control angiography until May 2002. Angiographic results showed that the patency of the right IMA to the right or left coronary artery system was similar (78.26% versus 82.6%; P = .7). But the left IMA had a better patency rate than the right IMA (95.65% versus 80.43%; P = .02). The patency rates of the left and right IMA anastomosis on the beating heart in Group B were not significantly different (92.3% versus 76.9%; P = .27). The patency of right IMA anastomosis with or without off-pump technique in Group B was similar (76.9% versus 80%; P = .84).

CONCLUSIONS

Bilateral IMA can be used with low morbidity and mortality. The angiographic and clinical results of off-pump CABG show that bilateral IMA can also be used in off-pump surgery with similar results.

Risks and benefits of bilateral internal thoracic artery grafting in diabetic patients

BACKGROUND

There is a tendency to avoid the bilateral internal thoracic artery (ITA) grafting in diabetics. However, we no longer consider diabetes a reason for excluding the bilateral use of ITAs. We compare the early and long-term results in diabetic cases treated by coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) using unilateral and bilateral ITA grafts.

METHODS

A total of 303 consecutive diabetic cases of CABG using ITA grafts between April 1991 and January 2003 were reviewed. Of these, 149 (49%) were being treated with insulin. The cases were divided into two groups: 179 cases in which bilateral ITA grafts had been used and 124 in which a unilateral ITA graft had been used.

RESULTS

The mortality for the bilateral ITA group and unilateral ITA group were 1.7% and 1.6%, respectively. The fact that patients were receiving insulin had no effect on the mortality of CABG. A review of morbidity revealed that no differences were found between the two groups. The survival curves, cardiac-death-free curves, and cardiac-event-free curves showed that there was no difference between the use of one or two ITA grafts in diabetics, while bilateral use of ITA grafts was significantly better than unilateral use in a comparable group of nondiabetics operated during the same time period.

CONCLUSIONS

There was no significant difference in operative mortality related to single or double ITA grafting in diabetics. There was also no difference between the use of one or two ITA grafts in diabetics in regard to long-term follow-up.

Coronary artery bypass grafting in the elderly

BACKGROUND AND METHODS

The incidence of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in elderly patients has been increasing. We retrospectively analyzed the results of CABG performed at Shin-Tokyo Hospital between January 1, 1991, and December 31, 1998. Preoperative, perioperative, and follow-up data of patients > or = 75 years old (group E, n = 190) were collected, and compared with those of patients < 75 years old (group Y, n = 1,380).

RESULTS

Female gender, emergent CABG, preoperative balloon pumping use, cardiogenic shock, hypertension, and preoperative cerebral vascular accident were significantly more frequent in group E (p < 0.05). CABG was completed without any significant differences, except for less frequent use of the bilateral internal mammary artery (p < 0.01), more frequent use of the saphenous vein (p < 0.005), and a greater incidence of blood transfusion in group E (p < 0.0001). The postoperative course required longer intubation, ICU stay, and postoperative hospital stay in group E (p < 0.001), and was more frequently associated with major complication (p < 0.0001) and in-hospital death (p < 0.05). During the mean follow-up of 2.7 years (maximum 6.9 years), the actuarial 5-year survival of groups E and Y were 84.3% and 92.5% (p < 0.01), respectively, excluding in-hospital mortality. The actuarial 5-year cardiac event-free rates were 79.9% in group E and 79.7% in group Y, showing no significant difference.

CONCLUSIONS

CABG in the elderly carries certain surgical risks. However, the long-term cardiac event-free rate after CABG in the elderly was almost the same as that of younger patients. Inferior long-term survival in the elderly was most likely due to the biological nature of aging.

Surgical myocardial revascularization

In conclusion, surgical myocardial revascularization has utilized diverse methods to increase blood flow to the starving myocardium. These methods initially used the microcirculation as the portal to reach myocytes until angiography showed that the obstructions were macrovascular. This resulted in a 30-year era of direct attack on the coronary blockages by coronary bypass. Surgical conduits unfortunately have longevity considerably less than that of native arteries and are limited in number. Alternative conduits, both biologic and prosthetic, have not yet proved to have the same clinical results as the ITA. More patients are living long enough to have the extensiveness of their disease exhaust conventional therapies. Newer therapy, restricted thus far to untreatables, revisits the microcirculation by making laser channels. These many innovative procedures have benefited hundreds of thousands of patients. They emerged from the probity and innovation of many individual surgeons.