| Sub-title | |
| Authors | K Schembri A Manche |
| Abstract | Objective: Obese patients are usually technically challenging. Nonetheless, we noticed that these patients tended to bleed less, an observation that we studied by means of retrospective analysis. Methods: Four hundred and thirteen consecutive patients undergoing routine CABG were classified according to their BMI into three groups. Group 1 had a BMI of 25 to 29.9 (n=192), group 2 a BMI 30 to 34.9 (n=157) and group 3 a BMI of 35 and over (n=64). The exclusion criteria were emergency surgery, beating heart surgery and redo-operations Results: The three groups had similar baseline characteristics. There was no statistical difference for mean number of grafts and bypass time. The blood loss was 511 216 mls for group 1, 473 154 mls for group 2 and 452 182 mls for group 3. Data analysis using the Anova test showed a marginally significant p-value of 0.049. When comparing group I to group 3, the significance was stronger with a p-value of 0.036 (t-test). The post-operative ventilation and hospital stay were similar for the three groups. There was no clinical difference with respect to complications but no statistical test was attempted in view of the small numbers Conclusions: Patients with a BMI greater than 35 bleed less than those with a BMI less than 30. The perception that obese patients are more likely to have post operative complications including bleeding was not evident in our study. |
Published in: | |
| Journal | Malta Medical Journal |
| Volume | 15 Issue 1-2/suppl. 2003 |
| Pages | - |
| Date | |
| Link to journal | |
| Key words | obesity, disadvantage, routine CABG |