Role of emergency coronary artery bypass grafting in the era of percutaneous interventions

Background: In acute coronary syndrome, prompt restoration of myocardial blood flow is essential to optimize myocardial salvage and decrease mortality. Coronary artery reperfusion, if performed in a timely manner improves clinical outcomes compared to no reperfusion. Fibrinolysis and percutaneous interventions can restore blood flow in an acutely occluded coronary artery in most of the patients; but in a few subset of patients coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is needed to effectively restore blood flow.Methods: A retrospective study was conducted among all CABGs performed during March 2016 - February 2018. During this period, 366 CABGs were performed and 57 patients underwent emergency CABG as per the inclusion criterias. Pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative data was analysed of these patients. Patients were divided into four groups based on the time of surgery from the time of onset of myocardial infarction.  Results: 57 patients underwent emergency CABG with males constituting 94.7% of the study population. 78.9% of them had an ejection fraction less than 35%. 52% presented with low cardiac output status, 10% needed intra-aortic balloon pump support and 15% required mechanical ventilation prior to surgery. All patients received an average of 2.8 grafts. Mortality was 5%Conclusions: Immediate surgical revascularisation of patients presenting with acute MI is feasible. Emergency CABG not only treats the culprit lesion but also achieves complete revascularization and offers a clear advantage for patients. The optimal timing of CABG for patients with acute MI remains difficult to establish.