Long-term outcomes following coronary artery bypass grafting: the role of off-pump strategy

Abstract Background The debate on the advantages and limitations of off-pump (OPCAB) on long-term outcomes has not still arrived to a conclusion. This study was designed to compare the impact of OPCAB vs on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) on long-term mortality and major adverse cardiac events (MACEs). Methods The PRIORITY project was designed to evaluate the long-term outcomes of 2 large prospective multicenter cohort studies on CABG conducted between 2002–2004 and 2007–2008. Data on isolated CABG were linked to 2 administrative datasets. Time-to-event methods were employed to analyze outcomes. Results The population consisted of 11021 patients who underwent isolated CABG (27.2% OPCAB) that were divided into development and validation datasets. The median follow-up time was 8 years (interquartile range 7.6–10 years) and was 100% complete. Unadjusted long-term survival was significantly worst for OPCAB, nonetheless the adjustment did not confirm OPCAB as a risk factor for mortality (HR 0.94, 95% CI 0.85–1.03, p=0.19). OPCAB was associated to an increased risk of MACE at 10 years (adjusted HR 1.14, 95% CI 1.06–1.23, p=0.001). Inside the MACEs, OPCAB was significantly related to increased incidence of rehospitalization for percutaneous cardiac intervention (PCI), (adjusted HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.16–1.53, p