[Surgical results in diabetics undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting]

Diabetes mellitus is a well-known risk factor in the patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and with increasing frequency diabetic patients are referred for CABG. From the fact that the arteriosclerosis is more diffuse and advanced in patients with diabetes, the presence of the diabetic state might be expected to be at risk for CABG. We retrospectively evaluated the surgical results in 91 patients with diabetes mellitus operated on from January, 1985, to June, 1991, compared with a control group of 339 patients during the same period. Compared with nondiabetic patients, diabetic patients had more extensive coronary artery disease and, therefore, received the more number of grafts per patient. However, no difference was noted in the incidence of operative mortality, morbidity and postoperative complication. The incidence of postoperative sternotomy infection was slightly higher, if not statistically significant, in the diabetic patients. Our study demonstrates that patients with diabetes mellitus can be operated on relatively safely.