Early Referral to Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Following Acute Coronary Syndrome, Trends and Outcomes from the Acute Coronary Syndrome Israeli Survey (ACSIS) 2000–2010

Background Limited information exists on whether changes in medical practices over the study decades have affected the outcomes of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients who undergo early coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) during index hospitalisation. Methods Data on trends for early CABG referral and associated outcomes were obtained among 11,485 ACS patients enrolled in the biennial Acute Coronary Syndrome Israeli Surveys (ACSIS) 2000–2010. Results Among 11,485 patients, 566 (5%) were referred to early CABG. These patients displayed higher risk characteristics, including Killip class >II, anterior myocardial infarction, greater left ventricular dysfunction, and more frequent use of mechanical ventilation and intra-aortic balloon pump (all p < 0.01). Nevertheless, mortality rates of patients referred to early CABG vs. treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or medically, was similar (11.4% vs. 10.2%; log-rank p-value = 0.40). There was a significant decline in the referral trend over the study decade (6.7% – 1.7%; p < 0.001). One year survival was similar between patients referred to early CABG during the late (years: 2006–2010) vs. early (years: 2000–2005) period (85.7% vs. 90%; log-rank p-value = 0.15), whereas, among patients who didn't undergo early CABG, and underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or medical management only, enrolment during the late periods was associated with a significant survival benefit (91.5% vs. 88.1%; log-rank p-value<0.001). Conclusions Over the study decade there was a significant decline in referral for early CABG, without a difference in the one-year mortality between the early and non-early CABG group.