Trends in Use of Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: Results from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database

OBJECTIVES:

Recent national trends in off-pump versus on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting have not been reported.

METHODS:

We analyzed data from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database regarding isolated primary coronary artery bypass grafting operations (N = 2,137,841; 1997-2012). The off-pump percentages were calculated in aggregate, by center, and by surgeon. On the basis of the 2007/2008 yearly off-pump volume, the analysis subgroups were “high” (center n > 200, surgeon n > 100), “intermediate” (center n = 50-200, surgeon n = 20-100), and “low” (center n = 1-49, surgeon n = 1-19).

RESULTS:

The use of off-pump procedures peaked in 2002 (23%) and again in 2008 (21%), followed by a progressive decline in off-pump frequency to 17% by 2012. After 2008, off-pump rates declined among both high-volume and intermediate-volume centers and surgeons; little change was observed for low-volume centers or surgeons (off-pump rates = 10% since 2008). By the end of the study period, 84% of centers performed fewer than 50 off-pump cases per year, 34% of surgeons performed no off-pump operations, and 86% of surgeons performed fewer than 20 off-pump cases per year. Except for a higher (7.8%) conversion rate in 2003, the rate for conversions fluctuated approximately 6%.

CONCLUSIONS:

Enthusiasm for off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting has been tempered. The percentage of coronary artery bypass grafting operations performed off-pump has steadily declined over the last 5 years, and currently this technique is used in fewer than 1 in 5 patients who undergo surgical coronary revascularization. A minority of surgeons and centers continue to perform off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting in most of their patients.