Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND: Multiple arterial grafts, in addition to the left internal thoracic artery, improve long-term survival after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG); yet, the use of this procedure remains low for both the right internal thoracic artery (RITA) and the radial artery (RA). To identify the optimal arterial conduit to deploy for revascularization of diabetic patients, we compared the outcomes for RA and RITA grafts to the circumflex coronary. METHODS: From January 1, 1995, to December 31, 2011, 908 consecutive diabetic patients underwent first-time, isolated CABG (99% on-pump), 659 with the RA and 502 with the RITA, respectively, in two affiliated hospitals. Data were prospectively collected, and late mortality was determined from the Social Security Death Index. Propensity matching, based on preoperative and operative variables, identified 202 matched pairs from each group. RESULTS: Long-term survival was similar for matched patients. Mortality, myocardial infarction, reoperation for bleeding, stroke, sepsis, and renal failure were not significantly different between groups. However, deep sternal wound infection (p<0.035) and respiratory failure (p<0.048) favored the RA group, in which the total major adverse events were significantly fewer (p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: In diabetic patients undergoing multivessel revascularization with either RA or RITA grafts to the circumflex coronary, long-term survival is similar. However, RA patients experienced significantly fewer respiratory or sternal wound adverse events. The RA is the preferred conduit to extend to more diabetic patients the recognized survival benefit of a multiple arterial graft strategy.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine if the radial artery (RA) or the free right internal thoracic artery (RITA) is the better conduit to bypass the circumflex coronary artery during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) using the left internal thoracic artery (LITA). METHODS: Propensity matching was performed on 2488 CABG-LITA patients from 2 affiliated centers, resulting in 528 pairs who received either a RA at one center or a free RITA at the other center to bypass the circumflex coronary artery from 1995 to 2009. RESULTS: Kaplan Meier estimated 1-, 5-, 10-, and 15-year survival rates were 99%, 95%, 85%, and 76% for RA patients, respectively, and 97%, 92%, 80%, and 71% for RITA patients, respectively (P = .060). Major adverse events (MAEs) were fewer in the RA group (7.6% vs 14.0%; P = .001) and use of the RA was a significant predictor of reduced MAEs (odds ratio [OR], 0.48; P = .002) in all patients and especially in diabetic (OR, 0.32; P = .003), older (OR, 0.40; P = .009), obese (OR, 0.15; P < .001), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (OR, 0.05; P = .016) patients. However, survival was better with RA only in COPD (hazard ratio, 0.49; P = .045) and older (hazard ratio, 0.71; P = .050) patients. Overall RA patency (83.9%) was similar to RITA patency (87.4%) at a mean of 5.1 +/- 3.8 years (P = .155). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term survival is similar in CABG-LITA patients using either a RA or free RITA graft to bypass the circumflex coronary artery. RA grafting has fewer MAEs, a similar patency to RITA, and improves survival in older and COPD patients. The choice of the second arterial conduit should be guided by patient profiles and surgeon preferences.