Association between sternal wound complications and 10-year mortality following coronary artery bypass grafting.
Gaudino M., Audisio K., Rahouma M., Robinson NB., Soletti GJ., Cancelli G., Masterson Creber RM., Gray A., Lees B., Gerry S., Benedetto U., Flather M., Taggart DP., Arterial Revascularization Trial Investigators None.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between sternal wound complications (SWC) and long-term mortality in the Arterial Revascularization Trial. METHODS: Participants in the Arterial Revascularization Trial were stratified according to the occurrence of postoperative SWC. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality at long-term follow-up. The secondary outcome was major adverse cardiovascular events. RESULTS: Three thousand one hundred two patients were included in the analysis; the median follow-up was 10 years. 115 patients (3.7%) had postoperative SWC: 85 (73.9%) deep sternal wound infections and 30 (26.1%) sterile SWC that required sternal reconstruction. Independent predictors of SWC included diabetes (odds ratio [OR], 2.77; 95% CI, 1.79-4.30; P