Off-pump versus on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a...

Off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery (OPCAB) has been suggested as superior to on-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery (ONCAB) in certain high-risk subgroups, but its benefit in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains controversial. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate OPCAB versus ONCAB outcomes in COPD patients.

We followed PRISMA guidelines and searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library in August 2024 for studies comparing OPCAB and ONCAB in COPD patients. Statistical analysis was conducted using Review Manager 5.4.1 and Rstudio with a fixed or random effects model.

Six studies with a total of 1,687 patients were included, of which 1,062 (62.95%) underwent OPCAB. The mean patient age was 63.6 years. OPCAB did not significantly affect all-cause mortality compared to ONCAB (OR 1.14; 95% CI 0.65-1.99). There were no significant differences in reintubation (OR 0.81; 95% CI 0.53-1.23), prolonged ventilation (OR 0.54; 95% CI 0.24-1.22), post-operative atrial fibrillation (OR 0.90; 95% CI 0.70-1.15), or ARDS (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.14-1.33). However, ventilation time was significantly shorter in the OPCAB group (MD - 5.30 h; 95% CI - 7.22 to - 3.38).

OPCAB is associated with reduced ventilation time in COPD patients though it shows no significant difference in all-cause mortality or other post-operative complications compared to ONCAB.