Stent versus bypass: The reasons and risk factors for early readmission to hospital after myocardial revascularization

OBJECTIVE Though 30-day rates of readmission for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remain high, readmission rates and associated risk factors have not been well examined. The purpose of the present study was to determine the risk factors for and rates of readmission and to compare two revascularization methods on that basis. METHODS The study included 2664 consecutive patients who underwent coronary revascularization either with CABG surgery or PCI. The study was performed retrospectively and a wide variety of risk factors related to readmission were selected for analysis, including demographic data, preoperative risk factors and postoperative complications. RESULTS From the CABG group (Group 1, n=1103), 18.3% were readmitted, as were 15.2% of the PCI group (Group 2, n=1561). In multivariate analysis, age, gender, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes mellitus (DM), length of stay (>10 days), body mass index (BMI), and creatinine level on admission were associated with early readmission for group 1 (Table 3). In group 2, age, gender, LVEF, DM, length of stay (>10 days), and creatinine level on admission were associated with early readmission. CONCLUSION When two methods of revascularization were compared, rates of readmission were found to be similar. Patients with cited risk factors are prone to readmission in the first 30 days, so extra precautions should be taken at discharge. Neither method can be concluded to be superior with regard to readmission rates.