BackgroundEndotracheal re-intubation following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is often associated with significant morbidity and mortality. However, few reports have focused on the independent risk factors for re-intubation following CABG. This study aimed to evaluate the independent risk factors for re-intubation following CABG.MethodsThe pre-, intra-, and post-operative materials in patients who had selective and isolated CABG performed on them from January 2004 to July 2012 in our hospital were analyzed retrospectively. Unvariate analysis and logistic regression were used to analyze the risk factor of postoperative re-intubation following CABG.ResultsAmong the 1,244 patients investigated, 97 cases suffered from postoperative re-intubation, and the incidence rate of postoperative re-intubation was 7.8%. The in-hospital mortality in the re-intubation group was significantly higher than that in the non-re-intubation group (9.3% versus 1.4%, P = 0.004). Re-intubation also correlated with many negative outcomes such as pneumonia, tracheotomy, acute renal failure, infection of incision, prolonged mechanical ventilation time, prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stay and prolonged hospital stay. The most commonly cause of re-intubation after CABG was hypoxemia due to cardiogenic and noncardiogenic disease, which accounted for 72.2%. The relative factors of postoperative re-intubation were tested through unvariate analysis and logistic regression, and the associated factors were obtained. The associated factors for re-intubation following CABG included preoperative chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (OR = 2.134, 95% CI = 1.472-2.967), preoperative congestive heart failure (CHF) (OR = 2.325, 95% CI = 1.512-3.121), postoperative relative hypoxemia (OR = 2.743, 95% CI = 1.657-3.326), postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) (OR = 2.976, 95% CI = 2.127-4.023), postoperative total mechanical ventilation time (OR = 1.976, 95% CI = 1.347-2.645).ConclusionPreoperative COPD, preoperative CHF, postoperative relative hypoxemia, postoperative AKI and postoperative total mechanical ventilation time were five independent risk factors for re-intubation following CABG.