Postoperative mortality and morbidity of octogenarians undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Background : Elderly patients are the fastest growing segment of the CABG patient population over the last two decades , and despite a steady increase in acuity , the mortality from CABG surgery has consistently declined . In many goals of surgical care for the elderly , although cure might not be possible , palliation and comfort are equally important . The purpose of the present study was to examine the postoperative course and events in octogenarians undergoing CABG and compare it with younger patients.Methods :Demographic , mortality , morbidity and resource utilization data were collected from the records of patients undergoing CABG from January 2005 until July 2007.Results : Mean time to extubation was 9.3 h in octogenarians and 6.3 h for their younger cohorts (p 0.01)Blood transfusion was required in 87.8% of octogenarian compared with 58.5% of youngers (p 0.01) . Mean ICU stay was 2.1 days for octogenarians and 1.4 days for non octogenarians (p 0.001) . The 30 - days mortality rate was 9% for the octogenarian vs 2.8% for the younger group (p 0.001) . Conclusion : Octogenarians undergoing CABG had significantly higher morbidity , with increased incidence of postoperative renal failure , neurological complications , and 30 - day mortality.