Postoperative Mortality and Morbidity in Elderly Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

Elderly patients (>75 years) have constituted the fastest growing portion of the coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patient population over the last two decades. Of the goals that surgical care for the elderly pursues, cure may be an unfeasible one; nevertheless, palliation and comfort warrant sufficient importance.The present study sought to examine the postoperative course and events in elderly patients undergoing CABG with or without other procedures and to compare the results with those in younger patients. Demographic, mortality, morbidity, and resource utilization data were collected from the records of the patients undergoing CABG between January 2005 and July 2007 in Imam Khomeini Medical Center, Tehran, Iran. The mean time to extubation was 9.3 and 6.3 hours in the elderly and non-elderly patients, respectively (p<0.01). Blood transfusion was required in 87.8% of the elderly compared to 58.5% of the non-elderly subjects (p<0.01). The mean Intensive Care Unit stay was 2.1 days for the elderly and 1.4 days for the non-elderly patients (p<0.001). In-hospital mortality was 9% for the elderly patients vs. 2.8% for the younger group (p<0.001). The elderly patients undergoing CABG had a significantly higher morbidity rate, with an increased incidence of postoperative renal failure, neurological complications, and in-hospital mortality.