Does avoidance of cardiopulmonary bypass decrease the incidence of stroke in diabetics undergoing coronary surgery?

Abstract

Improvements in myocardial protection, revascularization techniques, and anesthetic management have made significant, favorable impacts on CABG outcome in diabetic patients. New diagnostic and therapeutic strategies must be developed to lessen the medical and economic implications of stroke. A larger series or a more effective way of analyzing preoperative risk may well have shown a statistically significant difference in the stroke incidence given the differences in preoperative risk factors/stroke predictors. Until such advances occur, a threefold reduction of stroke incidence using OPCAB certainly makes this technique a favorable one for high-risk diabetics requiring coronary revascularization.