Evaluation of long-term quality of life after reoperative coronary artery surgery: preliminary results.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The risks of reoperative coronary artery bypass surgery (RECABG) still exceed those of a primary revascularisation and late results are not very favourable either. The subject of the present study is an evaluation of the long-term quality of life after RECABG. METHODS: We studied the outcome of 541 patients who underwent a RECABG from January 1987 to December 1998. The endpoint of the study was December 2002, or the patient's death. Quality of life, using the EuroQol registration, was evaluated. RESULTS: Hospital mortality was 6.7%. Follow-up was 95.6% complete, mean 7.7 years. There were 177 late deaths. The cumulative survival rates were 83.8, 76.9, and 60.6%, and cardiac survival rates were 84.8, 78.5, and 66.5%, at the one-year, five-year and ten-year follow-up, respectively. For 255 patients (89%), NYHA and EuroQol information was complete. In total 23% of the patients were in NYHA class I, 51% in class II, 21% in class III and 5% were in class IV. In the EuroQol registration, 54% of the patients declared they had no mobility problems, 85% no problems with self-care, and 65% no problems with usual activities. However, 60% suffered from moderate pain or discomfort, and 33% from anxiety or depression. On the visual analogue scale (mean 63.5), 13% of the patients scored >90, 68% between 50 and 90, and 19% of the patients <50. CONCLUSION: The long-term results of cumulative survival and cardiac survival, and NYHA class in our patient population who underwent RECABG are comparable with other studies. Quality of life is acceptable regarding the high risk of a RECABG.