Procedure related incidence of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting during the early postoperative period

Atrial fibrillation (AF), show to be a common postoperative complication, observed after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) During the first 7 postoperative days in 7–40% of patients. Some studies conclude that off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCABG) may decrease the incidence of AF, whereas the combination of CABG with heart valve replacement may result in more frequent postoperative atrial fibrillation. The aim of our study was to compare the early postoperative AF incidence rate during ICU stay in three groups of patients: after CABG, OPCABG, and CABG combined with valve replacement. Material and methods During the period from January 2009 till January 2012. Clinical profile of 650 patients were included in a prospective study , factors having potential influence on postoperative AF did not show any significant differences between the groups. The presence of arrhythmia history was the reason of excluding 42 patients from the statistical analysis. 525 cases after conventional CABG, 96 after OPCABG, and 29 after CABG combined with valve surgery were analyzed. Results Atrial fibrillation occurred during the postoperative ICU stay in 9.8% of patients after CABG, in 10.2% after OPCABG, and in 21% after CABG combined with valve replacement. There was no significant difference between CABG and OPCABG groups ( P = 0.965 ). We observed a statistically significant increase of the early postoperative atrial fibrillation incidence rate in patients after CABG combined with valve replacement, when compared with both CABG + OPCABG groups ( P = 0.005 ). Conclusions (1) Atrial fibrillation is a common postoperative complication after myocardial revascularization procedures which prolong ICU stay. (2) The study did not show that the incidence of postoperative AF is influenced by the technique of coronary artery bypass grafting: with or without CPB. (3) The prevalence of postoperative AF increase when CABG is combined with valve replacement.