Outcome of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and severe coronary artery disease who had a coronary artery bypass graft or a percutaneous coronary intervention.

OBJECTIVES

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who also have acute coronary syndromes are a high-risk population with a high mortality rate. Little is known about these patients following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

METHODS

Patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes between 2006 and 2014 with an angiogram showing 3-vessel disease or left main coronary artery involvement who were treated with CABG or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) only were included from the nationwide SWEDEHEART registry. Patients were stratified according to COPD status and compared with regard to outcome. The primary end-point was the 5-year mortality rate; secondary outcomes were the 30-day mortality rate and in-hospital complications after CABG.

RESULTS

We identified 6985 patients in the population who had CABG (COPD prevalence = 8.0%) and 14 209 who had PCI only (COPD = 8.2%). Patients with COPD were older and had more comorbidities than patients without COPD. The 5-year mortality rate was nearly doubled in patients with COPD versus patients without COPD (CABG: 27.2% vs 14.5%, P < 0.001; PCI only: 50.1% vs 29.1%, P < 0.001). After adjusting for age, sex and comorbidities, patients with COPD in both CABG-treated [hazard ratio = 1.52 (1.25-1.86), P < 0.001] and PCI-treated populations still had a significantly higher 5-year mortality rate. COPD was also independently associated with significantly more postoperative infections in need of antibiotics [odds ratio = 1.48 (1.07-2.04), P = 0.017] and pneumonia [odds ratio = 2.21 (1.39-3.52), P = 0.001].

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with COPD presenting with acute coronary syndromes and severe coronary artery disease are a high-risk population following CABG or PCI only, with higher risk of long-term and short-term death and postoperative infections. Preventive measures, including careful monitoring for signs of infection and prompt antibiotic treatment when indicated, should be considered.