Innovations : technology and techniques in cardiothoracic and vascular surgery
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Innovations (Phila) · May 2008
Preoperative hemoglobin a1c predicts sternal wound infection after coronary artery bypass surgery with bilateral versus single internal thoracic artery grafts.
: Bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) grafting during coronary artery bypass (CABG) improves long-term and event-free survival but may carry a higher risk of wound complications. It is unknown whether preoperative hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), a measure of long-term glucose control, predicts deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) after BITA grafting. ⋯ : Elevated preoperative HbA1c and BITA grafting were significant predictors of DSWI after CABG. Elevated HbA1c level should be considered in the risk/benefit analysis when selecting patients for BITA grafting.