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Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common complication after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). It is associated with prolonged hospital stay and increased cost. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between transfusion of blood derivatives and occurrence of postoperative paroxysmal AF. From June 2012 to February 2014, 446 patients undergoing CABG with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) were prospectively evaluated for occurrence of postoperative AF. Patients and procedural variables were recorded and were associated with the development of new-onset AF with logistic regression analysis. AF developed in 111 patients (24.9%). Preoperative factors associated with the development of new-onset AF included age ( < 0.05), higher EuroSCORE II ( < 0.05), carotid disease ( = 0.01), peripheral vascular disease ( = 0.02), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( = 0.03), renal failure ( = 0.05), and cardiac failure ( = 0.01). Intraoperative and postoperative parameters included duration of CPB ( < 0.05), number of grafts ( = 0.009), intubation time ( = 0.001), occurrence of postoperative stroke ( = 0.01), transient ischemic attack ( = 0.02), need for prolonged ventilation ( = 0.002), development of respiratory tract infection ( = 0.02), need for noninvasive ventilation ( = 0.001), reintubation ( = 0.02), development of postoperative acute kidney injury ( = 0.002), and postoperative neurocognitive dysfunction ( = 0.002). The number of red blood cell (RBC) units transfused during surgery ( = 0.7) and the total number of RBC units transfused ( = 0.2) as well as units of fresh frozen plasma ( = 0. 7) and platelets units transfused in total ( = 0.3) were not found to increase the risk of postoperative AF. Intraoperative and postoperative blood products transfusion in patients operated for CABG is not associated with increased risk of developing postoperative AF.

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Purpose. To determine the effect of each of independent acid base variables on the anion gap (AG) value in cardiac surgical patients. Methods. This retrospective study involved 128 cardiac surgical patients admitted for postoperative care. The variation of AG (AGvar) between the day of admission and the first postoperative day was correlated via a multiple linear regression model with the respective variations of the independent acid base variables, that is, apparent strong ion difference (SIDa), strong ion gap (SIG), carbon dioxide (PCO2), and albumin and phosphate concentrations. Results. The variations of all the above variables contributed significantly to the prediction of AGvar (adjusted R 2 = 0.9999, F = 201890.24, and P < 0.001). According to the standardized coefficients (β),  SIGvar (β = 0.948, P < 0.001), [Albumin]var (β = 0.260, P < 0.001), and [Phosphate]var (β = 0.191, P < 0.001) were the major determinants of AGvar with lesser contributions from SIDa, var (β = 0.071, P < 0.001) and PCO2, var (β = −0.067, P < 0.001). Conclusions. All the independent acid base variables contribute to the prediction of the AG value. However, albumin and phosphate and SIG variations seem to be the most important predictors, while AG appears to be rather stable with changes in PCO2 and SIDa.