Md. Eisenhauer et al., BENEFICIAL IMPACT OF AORTOCORONARY GRAFT MARKERS ON POSTOPERATIVE ANGIOGRAPHY, Catheterization and cardiovascular diagnosis, 40(3), 1997, pp. 249-253
Objective: When coronary and graft angiography is required for patient
s with prior coronary artery bypass (CAB) graft surgery, it is often d
ifficult to localize the proximal aorto-coronary graft anastamosis. Ou
r goal was to quantify the potential benefit during subsequent angiogr
aphy if the proximal anastamosis is marked by an aorto-coronary graft
marker at the time of CAB. Methods: Retrospective review of 414 angiog
rams that were performed for patients with prior CAB. Cohorts with and
without graft markers were compared. Results: In the group with aorto
-coronary graft markers and greater than or equal to 2 aorto-coronary
grafts, there were significant reductions in fluoroscopy time (30.5%,
p <0.0001), contrast volume (21.7%, p<0.0001), and numbers of angiogra
phic catheters used (17.0%, p=0.0001). If only one aorto-coronary graf
t was placed and marked, a trend toward reduced fluoroscopy time was o
bserved (23.8%, p=0.07). Conclusions: This study demonstrates the obje
ctive benefit supporting routine placement of circumferential aorto-co
ronary graft markers during CAB, particularly if >1 graft is required.
(C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.dagger.