Staged Hybrid Coronary Revascularization in Acute Coronary Syndrome

In acute coronary syndrome (ACS) with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction, there is a subgroup of patients who are difficult to treat; these are patients with a complex left anterior descending artery (LAD) lesion or a non-LAD culprit lesion but who are not suitable for standard coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Staged hybrid coronary revascularization (HCR), combining primary percutaneous coronary intervention on the non-LAD culprit lesion with CABG, represents an attractive solution.

We conducted a retrospective observational study to compare effectiveness and safety of HCR vs CABG alone. From December 6, 2016, to December 21, 2021, at our institution, 339 patients underwent urgent CABG with or without previous primary percutaneous coronary intervention; 65 received HCR (study group) and 274 received CABG alone (control group). Primary outcomes were major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events at 30 days and at long-term follow-up. Secondary outcomes were in-hospital postoperative complications.

Significant preoperative differences were detected in the mean EuroSCORE II: 3.4 (1.5-7.8) in HCR vs 2.5 (1.1-4.5) in CABG (P < .05). Patients in the CABG group needed more blood transfusions than patients in the HCR group (P = .004). Conversely, no other significant differences were detected for in-hospital postoperative complications. Survival analysis did not show significant differences between HCR and CABG, either to 30 days (hazard ratio, 0.51 [95% CI, 0.03-4.04]; P = .52) or to longer follow-up (maximum 5 years; hazard ratio, 0.40 [95% CI, 0.09-1.68]; P = .21).

Our data support the safety and effectiveness of staged HCR in the scenario of ACS.