Multiple arterial versus single arterial grafting in patients with diabetes undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery

Data on long-term outcomes in patients with diabetes receiving multiarterial grafting (MAG) versus single-artery grafting (SAG) are limited.

The objective of this study is to compare long-term outcomes between MAG and SAG for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in patients with diabetes.

Patients with diabetes who underwent isolated CABG surgeries between 2000 to 2016 were identified using the New Jersey mandatory state clinical registry linked with death records and hospital discharge data (last follow-up December 31, 2019). Patients who underwent CABG for single-vessel disease, with only venous conduits, patients with previous heart surgeries, or hemodynamically unstable were excluded. Patients undergoing MAG and SAG were matched by propensity score. Cox proportional hazard models were used to investigate long-term survival and competing risk analysis was used for secondary outcomes.

Of 24,944 patients, 2955 underwent MAG, and 21,989 underwent SAG CABG. Patients receiving MAG were younger, predominantly men, with a lower prevalence of hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, congestive heart failure, chronic lung disease, and renal failure. MAG was associated with lower long-term mortality compared with SAG in 2882 propensity score-matched pairs (hazard ratio [HR], 0.75; 95% CI, 0.68-0.83); lower risks of repeat revascularization (subdistribution HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.76-0.97); and composite outcome defined as death from any cause, stroke, postoperative myocardial infarction, and/or repeat revascularization (HR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.71-0.82). These results were confirmed in subgroup analyses of women, men, age <70 years, and age ≥70 years patients with diabetes. MAG was also associated with lower mortality compared with SAG in patients with diabetes taking insulin in the entire cohort (Video Abstract).

Patients with diabetes benefit from receiving MAG over SAG and demonstrated improved long-term survival, and lower hazards of secondary and composite outcomes. Coordinated efforts are needed to offer MAG to patients with diabetes.