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Randomized comparisons of off-pump and on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) have primarily focused on low-risk patients (e.g., JW Cardiol Jun 4 2004). Now, investigators in Denmark have compared the two types of CABG in a randomized trial involving 341 high-risk patients (mean age, 76; 65% men) who had three-vessel disease and EuroSCOREs ≥5. In each group, 18% of patients had diabetes.
The off-pump and on-pump groups did not differ significantly in the mean number of grafts per patient or in the completeness of revascularization. However, significantly fewer grafts were performed in the lateral territory of the left ventricle in the off-pump group than in the on-pump group (0.97 vs. 1.14; P=0.01).
At 30 days, the two groups had stat…