Abstract:

Introduction: Postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) is an important determinant of mortality and morbidity after cardiac surgery. In this study, our aim was to examine the incidence of and risk factors for AF developing after coronary bypass surgery. Patients and Methods: Patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery between January 2011 and April 2011 in our department were examined retrospectively. A total of 211 patients were included in the study. Patients with postoperative AF comprised Group I, while those without comprised Group II. The two groups were compared in terms of a number of potential risk factors for AF including the presence of diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HT), cigarette smoking, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), number of distal anastomoses, and aortic cross clamp time (ACC). Results: There were 33 (68%) were male and 15 (32%) female patients in Group I and 119 (73%) male and 44 (27%) female patients in Group II, respectively. Mean age was 66.2 ± 10.8 years in Group I and 60.4 ± 9.3 years in Group II (p= 0.001). There were no significant differences between study groups in terms of the incidence of DM, smoking, HT or COPD. Number of distal anastomoses were 5.6 ± 2.1 in Group I and 3.5 ± 2.4 in Group II (p< 0.05). ACC time was 48.2 ± 29.1 and 59.6 ± 18.4 minutes in Groups I and II, respectively (p< 0.05). Mean duration of hospitalization was 5.2 ± 2.6 days in Group I and 4.5 ± 3.1 days in Group II. No early mortality occurred during the first month after discharge. Age, ACC, and number distal anastomoses emerged as determinants of the risk of postoperative AF. Conclusion: The risk of postoperative AF is dependent on certain surgical factors. Control of modifiable risk factors can assist in the prevention of postoperative AF.

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