Elevated preoperative neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio as a predictor of increased long-term survival in minimal invasive coronary artery bypass surgery compared to sternotomy

Neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a predictor of major adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Our study explores the value of NLR in predicting long-term mortality after minimally invasive coronary artery bypass surgery (MICS) via lateral left-thoracotomy versus conventional sternotomy coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. A total of 1126 consecutive patients (729 sternotomy CABG and 397 MICS) from a single tertiary center between 2005 and 2008 were followed until 2011. We stratified the patients into equal tertiles according to preoperative NLR. The primary outcome, all-cause mortality, was compared among the NLR tertiles. Out of the 1126 patients included in the study, 1030 (91%) patients underwent off-pump CABG . The first (NLR