Preoperative C-reactive protein predicts long-term mortality and hospital length of stay after primary, nonemergent coronary artery bypass grafting.

BACKGROUND Preoperative C-reactive protein (CRP) levels more than 10 mg/l have been shown to be associated with increased morbidity and mortality after cardiac surgery. We examine the value of preoperative CRP levels less than 10 mg/l for predicting long-term, all-cause mortality and hospital length of stay in surgical patients undergoing primary, nonemergent coronary artery bypass graft-only surgery. METHODS We examined the association between preoperative CRP levels stratified into four categories (< 1, 1-3, 3-10, and > 10 mg/l), and 7-yr all-cause mortality and hospital length of stay in 914 prospectively enrolled primary, nonemergent coronary artery bypass graft-only surgical patients using a proportional hazards regression model. RESULTS Eighty-seven patients (9.5%) died during a mean follow-up period of 4.8 +/- 1.5 yr. After proportional hazards adjustment, the 3-10 and > 10 mg/l preoperative CRP groups were associated with long-term, all-cause mortality (hazards ratios [95% CI]: 2.50 [1.22-5.16], P = 0.01 and 2.66 [1.21-5.80], P = 0.02, respectively) and extended hospital length of stay (1.32 [1.07-1.63], P < 0.001 and 1.27 [1.02-1.62], P = 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION We demonstrate that preoperative CRP levels as low as 3 mg/l are associated with increased long-term mortality and extended hospital length of stay in relatively lower-acuity patients undergoing primary, nonemergent coronary artery bypass graft-only surgery. These important findings may allow for more objective risk stratification of patients who present for uncomplicated surgical coronary revascularization.