Objective:Compare the prognosis and complications of diabetic and non-diabetic patients
undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass surgery at a hospital with a high
surgical volume.Methods:Data of patients who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery from June 2009
to July 2010 were analyzed. We selected diabetic and non-diabetic patients
and evaluated their postoperative and long-term prognosis based on clinical
complications. To reduce the disparity within the sample, statistical
analyses were performed using propensity scores.Results:We included 2,688 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery; 36%
of them had diabetes, their mean age was 62.1±9.49 years and 70%
(1,884) of them were men. Patients with diabetes were older (63±9
years vs. 61±10 years; P<0.001),
more often obese (BMI>25 kg/m2: 70.7% vs.
64.5%; P<0.001), dyslipidemic (50.4%
vs. 41.1%; P<0.001), hypertensive
(89.2% vs. 78.7%; P<0.001), and
presented chronic renal failure (8.3% vs. 3.8%;
P<0.001). They also presented higher rates of acute
renal failure (5.6% vs. 2.7%, P<0.001),
infection (11.4% vs. 7.2%, P<0.001) and
mortality after one year (9.1% vs. 5.6%,
P<0.001). Pneumonia was more common among patients with
diabetes (7.7% vs. 4.0%, P<0.001).
According to propensity scoring, 430 patients (215 diabetics and 215
non-diabetics) had a mean age of 61.3±8.97 years, and 21.2% (91 of
430) were women. However, diabetes was not an independent factor for poor
prognosis.Conclusion:Patients with diabetes were at higher risk for postoperative complications
and mortality after undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery. However,
diabetes did not explain the poor prognosis of these patients after pairing
this factor with the propensity score.