Total arterial revascularization in patients with acute myocardial infarction - feasibility and outcomes

Comparative Analysis of Early Postoperative Period in Patients with Total Arterial Revascularization and Conventional Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

The use of total arterial myocardial revascularization in patients with multivessel lesions of the coronary arteries has a number of advantages, namely the duration of functioning or patency of the grafts. The level of total arterial myocardial revascularization implementation in developed and developing countries remains quite low. The aim. Based on the analysis of our own experience, to determine the influence of the technique of total arterial revascularization on the frequency of complications in the early postoperative period. Materials and methods. From February 22, 2016 to December 24, 2020, 390 consecutive patients were operated at the Ukrainian Children’s Cardiac Center. The patients were divided into two groups: participants of the group I underwent total arterial myocardial revascularization, and those includedin the group II underwent conventional coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The inclusion criteria were: ischemic heart disease, stable angina or exertional angina, multivascular coronary artery disease, absence of valvular pathology. Results. There was zero 30-day mortality in both groups. The frequency of postoperative bleeding was higher in group II and amounted to 1.6%. Surgical wound complications (infection) were also more common in the group II: 1.2% versus 0.69% (p=0.906) in the group I. Similarly, laboratory parameters such as the level of creatine kinase-MB were almost identical. Conclusions. Total arterial myocardial revascularization is a safe method with good immediate results. The frequency of complications in total arterial myocardial revascularizationdoes not differ from that in conventional CABG. For a wider application of the total arterial myocardial revascularization,it is necessary to continue toconduct studies of the remote postoperative period.

Total Arterial Coronary Bypass Graft Surgery is Associated with Better Long-Term Survival in Patients with Multivessel Coronary Artery Disease: a Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

INTRODUCTION

The benefit of total arterial revascularization (TAR) in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) remains a controversial issue. This study sought to evaluate whether there is any difference on the long-term results of TAR and non-TAR CABG patients.

METHODS

The Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL/CCTR), Clinical Trials.gov, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (LILACS), and Google Scholar databases were searched for studies published by October 2020. Randomized clinical trials and observational studies with propensity score matching comparing TAR versus non-TAR CABG were included. Random-effects meta-analysis was performed. The current barriers to implementation of TAR in clinical practice and measures that can be used to optimize outcomes were reviewed.

RESULTS

Fourteen publications (from 2012 to 2020) involving a total of 22,746 patients (TAR: 8,941 patients; non-TAR: 13,805 patients) were included. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) for long-term mortality (over 10 years) was lower in the TAR group than in the non-TAR group (random effect model: HR 0.676, 95% confidence interval 0.586-0.779, P<0.001). There was evidence of low heterogeneity of treatment effect among the studies for mortality, and none of the studies had a particular impact on the summary result. The result was not influenced by age, sex, or comorbidities. We identified low risk of publication bias related to this outcome.

CONCLUSION

This review found that TAR presents the best long-term results in patients who undergo CABG. Given that many patients are likely to benefit from TAR, its use should be encouraged.

Total arterial revascularization strategies: A meta-analysis of propensity score-matched observational studies

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY

We explored the current evidence available on total arterial revascularization (TAR) carrying out a meta-analysis of propensity score-matched studies comparing TAR versus non-TAR strategy.

METHODS

PubMed, EMBASE, and Google Scholar were searched for propensity score-matched studies comparing TAR vs non-TAR. The generic inverse variance method was used to compute the combined hazard ratio (HR) of long-term mortality. The Der-Simonian and Laird method were used to compute the combined risk ratio (RR) of 30-day mortality, deep sternal wound infection, and reoperation for bleeding.

RESULTS

Eighteen TAR vs non-TAR matched populations were included. Meta-analysis showed a significant benefit in terms of long-term survival of the TAR group over the non-TAR group (HR: 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.68-0.78). Better long-term survival over non-TAR strategy was confirmed by both subgroups: TAR with the bilateral internal mammary artery (BIMA) and TAR without BIMA. Meta-regression suggests that TAR may offer a higher protective survival effect in diabetic patients (coefficient: -0.0063; 95% CI: -0.01 to 0.0006), when carried out with BIMA (coefficient: -0.15; 95% CI: -0.27 to -0.03) or using three arterial conduits (coefficient: -0.12; 95% CI: -0.25 to 0.007). A TAR strategy carried out using BIMA, differently from TAR without BIMA, increases the risk of deep sternal infection (RR: 1.44; 95% CI: 1.17-1.77).

CONCLUSIONS

TAR provides a long-term survival benefit compared with the non-TAR strategy. Also, compared with TAR without BIMA, TAR with BIMA may offer a higher protective long-term survival effect at the expense of a higher risk of sternal deep wound infection.