Effect of abciximab on the outcome of emergency coronary artery bypass grafting after failed percutaneous coronary intervention

Objective: To evaluate the outcome of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for failed percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients who had received abciximab. Patients and Methods: In this retrospective study, we analyzed the records of patients who had PCI at our institution between January 1994 and December 1998 and identified those who had urgent or emergency CABG within 48 hours after PCI. CABG was performed for failed PCI in patients who had ongoing ischemia, hemodynamic compromise, or both. These patients were categorized into 2 groups depending on whether they had been given abciximab during PCI. We compared blood product transfusion requirements, bleeding complications, and frequency of in-hospital adverse events of the 2 groups. Results: Of 5636 patients who had PCI, 77 (1.4%) had urgent or emergency CABG within 48 hours, including 11 who were given abciximab (abciximab group) during PCI and 66 who were not given abciximab (no abciximab group). The 2 groups had similar baseline characteristics. The mean SD time to surgery was 8.4 +/-8.0 hours (median, 6 hours) for the abciximab group vs 12.1 +/- 12.5 hours (median, 4 hours) for the no abciximab group. Major bleeding (Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction criteria) occurred in 9 (90%) of 10 patients in the abciximab group vs 48 (77%) of 62 patients in the no abciximab group. The total volumes of intraoperative autotransfusion and transfusion of red blood cells and fresh frozen plasma tended to be higher for the abciximab group. Also, this group received a mean of 13.9 U of platelets vs 3.2 U for the no abciximab group (P < .001). However, no in-hospital deaths occurred among patients in the abciximab group, and adverse events were infrequent and comparable between the 2 groups. No difference was noted between the 2 groups in the frequency of surgical reexploration for bleeding. Conclusion: Transfusion requirements are higher for patients who undergo emergency or urgent CABG after having received abciximab during PCI. However, in-hospital adverse events are infrequent and comparable to those for patients who do not receive abciximab.