Indications and problems of coronary artery bypass grafting without cardiopulmonary bypass

Management and postoperative outcome in primary lung cancer and heart disease co-morbidity: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Co-morbidity of primary lung cancer (LC) and heart disease (HD), both requiring surgical therapy, characterizes a high risk group of patients necessitating prompt diagnosis and treatment. The aim of this study is the review of available evidence guiding the management of these patients.

METHODS

Postoperative outcome of patients operated for primary LC (first meta-analysis) and for both primary LC and HD co-morbidity (second meta-analysis), were studied. Parameters examined in both meta-analyses were thirty-day postoperative mortality, postoperative complications, three- and five-year survival probabilities. The last 36 years were reviewed by using the PubMed data base. Thirty-seven studies were qualified for both meta-analyses.

RESULTS

The pooled 30-day mortality percentages (%) were 4.16% [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.68-5.95] (first meta-analysis) and 5.26% (95% CI: 3.47-7.62) (second meta-analysis). Higher percentages of squamous histology and lobectomy, were significantly associated with increased (P=0.001) and decreased (P<0.001) thirty-day postoperative mortality, respectively (first meta-analysis). The pooled percentages for postoperative complications were 34.32% (95% CI: 24.59-44.75) (first meta-analysis) and 45.59% (95% CI: 35.62-55.74) (second meta-analysis). Higher percentages of squamous histology (P=0.001), lobectomy (P=0.002) and p-T1 or p-T2 (P=0.034) were associated with higher proportions of postoperative complications (second meta-analysis). The pooled three- and five- year survival probabilities were 68.25% (95% CI: 45.93-86.86) and 52.03% (95% CI: 34.71-69.11), respectively. Higher mean age (P=0.046) and percentage lobectomy (P=0.009) significantly reduced the five-year survival probability.

CONCLUSIONS

Lobectomy and age were both accompanied by reduced five-year survival rate. Also, combined aorto-coronary bypass grafting (CABG) with lobectomy for squamous pT1 or pT2 LC displayed a higher risk of postoperative complications. Moreover, medical decision between combined or staged surgery is suggested to be individualized based on adequacy of coronary arterial perfusion, age, patient's preoperative performance status (taking into account possible co-morbidities per patient), tumor's staging and extent of lung resection.

Off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery in patients with coronary artery disease and malign neoplasia: results of ten patients and review of the literature

Cardiopulmonary bypass has been reported to have many effects on the immune system. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficiency and usefulness of off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery on patients who had coronary artery disease besides malign neoplasia. We applied OPCAB operations to 217 patients between March 2001 and April 2004, ten of whom had malign neoplasia. These patients were diagnosed to have coronary artery disease on their routine examination for their oncologic operation. The malignancies were stomach cancer (2 patients), colon-rectum carcinoma (3 patients), breast carcinoma (2 patients), surrenal carcinoma (1 patient), larynx carcinoma (1 patient), and meningioma (1 patient). The patients were operated on for their neoplasia by the related clinics at a mean of 42 days after the OPCAB surgery. The patients were discharged with surgical success and without any cardiac complications. Coronary artery bypass surgery before a noncardiac major operation may effectively decrease the long-term mortality due to myocardial ischemia. Severe coronary artery disease should be surgically treated in those patients who are scheduled to undergo an operation for malign neoplasia. Extracorporeal circulation impairs the immune system and negatively affects the defense of host against malignancy. Therefore, patients with severe coronary artery disease who are candidates for oncologic operation should be treated with OPCAB.

The significance of troponin T and CK-MB release in coronary artery bypass surgery

Measurement of cardiac markers is an index of care standard in the assessment and diagnosis of cardiovascualr disease. Two of the major cardiac markers are Creatine Kinase isoenzyme CK-MB and Troponin T, which are extensively used in the diagnosis of heart disease. The release of Troponin T and creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB) was investigated in 50 coronary artery bypass surgery patients. Measurement of plasma samples was carried out at five different time points, namely before surgery, 1,6,12,24 hours after surgery. The results indicated that CK-MB level were increased by a factor more than four times compared with the upper limit of baseline (befor surgery). Troponin T concentration showed more than six fold over the upper limit of baseline (before surgert) at 1,6,12,24 hours after surgery. In order to assess the significance of the length of the surgical procedure on the release of Troponin T and CK-MB, the surgery patient were divided into two groups according to the length of the surgical procedure: group I was selected on the basis that the surgical procedure they underwent lasted above 90 minutes and group II with a surgical procedure below 90 minutes. Both Troponin T and CK-MB showed a significant increase in-group I compared to group II. To investigate the likelihood that this effect is party due to myocardial infarction during surgery, the patients were divided into two groups: Group A with some sings of myocardial infarction on Q wave of ECG and group B without any change. The results showed approximately a two-fold increase of these markers in-group A compared to group B. Since these markers reach into blood following damage to myocardial their increase in patients with time course surgery of more than 90 minutes and those with a probability of MI during operation, indicating that these patient fall into a high risk group of repeat (MI) after surgery.