HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Murat Basaran Ozer Selimoglu Halide Ogus Eylul Kafali Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Basaran, M. Articles by Ogus, T. N. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Basaran, M. Articles by Ogus, T. N. Related Collections Coronary disease

Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2007;32:58-64. doi:10.1016/j.ejcts.2007.03.030
Copyright © 2007, European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Being an elderly woman: is it a risk factor for morbidity after coronary artery bypass surgery?

Cardiovascular Surgery Clinic, Goztepe Safak Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

Received 24 January 2007; received in revised form 12 March 2007; accepted 19 March 2007.

^_* Corresponding author. Address: Fahrettin Kerim Gokay Caddesi, Goztepe Safak Hastanesi, Kadikoy, Istanbul, Turkey. Tel.: +90 216 565 44 44; fax: +90 216 565 85 85. (Email: dr_murat_basaran{at}yahoo.com).

Objective: Despite the refinements in surgical techniques and postoperative care, elderly women still have a higher prevalence of postoperative morbidity. Methods: The outcomes of 112 elderly women (>80 years) who underwent an elective CABG procedure were compared with those of males operated during the same time interval (n, 164). Results: Median age of female and male patients were 82 and 83 years, respectively. Mean number of grafts did not differ significantly (3.7 ± 0.8 vs 3.9 ± 0.3, p = 0.4) between groups. Overall early operative mortality rate was 8.6% (24 of 276 patients); 8.9% (10 of 112 patients) for female and 8.5% (14 of 164 patients) for male patients (p = 0.1). Postoperative complications including prolonged ventilation time (13.4% in females vs 8.5% in male, p < 0.01), atrial fibrillation (40% in females vs 33% in males, p = 0.01), sternal reclosure (8% in females vs 4.2% in males, p = 0.01), pneumonia (5.3% in females vs 3% in males, p = 0.03), leg wound infection (11.7% in females vs 2.4% in males, p < 0.001), renal dysfunction (10.7% in females vs 7.3% in young patients, p = 0.02) have been found to be significantly higher in elderly women. Mean intensive care unit (3.2 ± 1.1 days in females vs 1.6 ± 0.4 in males, p = 0.03), and hospital stays (13.6 ± 2.1 days in females vs 9.1 ± 1.2 in males, p = 0.02) were also longer in female patients. Five-year survivals including all deaths for female and male patients were 57% and 62%, respectively. Conclusions: In elderly women, revascularization procedures can be done with acceptable mortality rates; but these patients are still associated with a higher prevalence of postoperative morbidity when compared with the male counterparts. Therefore, these patients have to be very carefully evaluated preoperatively and their postoperative care should be more comprehensive to reduce the incidence of postoperative complications.

Key Words: Elderly woman • Octogenarians • Coronary artery bypass grafting • Postoperative mortality • Postoperative morbidity

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. I. Paraskevas Applications of statins in cardiothoracic surgery: more than just lipid-lowering Eur. J. Cardiothorac. Surg., March 1, 2008; 33(3): 377 - 390. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]