Impact of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty on coronary bypass surgery--changes in the patient profile during the past decade.

As percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty has become an increasingly common procedure replacing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), the clinical profile of the patients referred for CABG has changed markedly. A retrospective study of the changes in the clinical profile and surgical outcome of patients who underwent CABG during the past 10 years was conducted. Between March 1982 and February 1996, 1010 patients underwent isolated CABG at Nara Medical University. The first 100 consecutive patients who underwent CABG in 1984-85 (group 1) were compared with the first 100 consecutive patients who underwent CABG in 1994-95 (group 2). Preoperative risk increased significantly during the decade with respect to patient age (p<0.001), the presence of diabetes mellitus (p=0.048), the number of diseased vessels (p<0.001), left main trunk disease (p=0.008), the presence of aortic or peripheral vascular disease (p=0.032),and the need for emergency surgery (p=0.013). Operative procedures have become more complicated with respect to the number of total and arterial grafts, duration of the aortic cross-clamp and cardiopulmonary bypass. Hospital mortality for elective CABG has not changed (2%) and the overall mortality has not increased significantly (from 2% to 3%) during the decade. In conclusion, although the preoperative risks have increased and more complicated procedures are required, CABG continues to be performed safely with low mortality rates.