Off-pump Versus On-pump Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery: Graft Patency Assessment With Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography: A Prospective Multicenter Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.

PURPOSE: A large multicenter randomized trial (RCT) is needed to assess off-pump coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patency when performed by skilled surgeons. This prospective multicenter randomized pilot study compares graft patency after on-pump and off-pump techniques and addresses the feasibility of such an RCT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consecutive patients were prospectively recruited for ≥64-slice computed tomography angiography graft patency assessment 1 year after randomization to off-pump or on-pump CABG. Blinded assessment of graft patency was performed, and the results were categorized as normal, ≥50% stenosis, or occlusion. A multilevel model with random effects on the patient was used to account for correlation of results in patients with multiple grafts. RESULTS: A total of 157 patients (3 centers, 84 off-pump and 73 on-pump patients, 512 grafts, assessability rate 98.4%) were included. Patency index (% nonoccluded grafts) was 89% for the off-pump technique and 95% for the on-pump technique (P=0.09). Patency was similar for arterial and vein grafts (both 92%; P=0.88), as well as between target territories (89% to 94%; P=0.53). CONCLUSIONS: In this pilot study, 1-year graft patency results after off-pump and on-pump surgery were similar. This feasibility trial demonstrates that a large multicenter RCT to compare CABG patency after on-pump with that after off-pump techniques is feasible and can be reliably undertaken using computed tomography angiography.

Preoperative intra-aortic balloon pump in patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of preoperative intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) placement in high-risk patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery (CABG). The primary outcome was hospital mortality and secondary outcomes were IABP-related complications (bleeding, leg ischemia, aortic dissection). METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane registry of Controlled Trials, and reference lists of relevant articles were searched. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and cohort studies that fulfilled our a priori inclusion criteria. Eligibility decisions, relevance, study validity, and data extraction were performed in duplicate using pre-specified criteria. Meta-analysis was conducted using a random effects model. RESULTS: Ten publications fulfilled our eligibility criteria, of which four were RCTs and six were cohort studies with controls. There were statistical as well as clinical heterogeneity among included studies. A total of 1034 patients received preoperative IABP and 1329 did not receive preoperative IABP. The pooled odds ratio (OR) for hospital mortality in patients treated with preoperative IABP was 0.41 (95% CI, 0.21-0.82, p = 0.01). The number needed to treat was 17. The pooled OR for hospital mortality from randomized trials was 0.18 (95% CI, 0.06-0.57, p = 0.003) and from cohort studies was 0.54 (95% CI, 0.24-1.2, p = 0.13). Overall, 3.7% (13 of 349) of patients who received preoperative IABP developed either limb ischemia or haematoma at the IABP insertion site, and most of these complications improved after discontinuation of IABP. CONCLUSION: Evidence from this meta-analysis support the use of preoperative IABP in high-risk patients to reduce hospital mortality.