Objectives: Outcomes after synchronous carotid endarterectomy (CEA) plus coronary artery bypass (CABG) relative to surgical and patient based variables.
Design: Systematic review of 94 published series (7863 synchronous procedures).
Results: 11.5% of patients died or suffered a stroke/myocardial infarction in the peri-operative period (95% CI 10.1-12.9). The risk of death/stroke appeared to significantly diminish in studies published between 1993-2002, compared with 1972-1992 (7.2% (95% CI 6.5-9.1) versus 10.7% (95% CI 8.9-12.5), p = 0.03). However, increasing operative experience was not associated with significantly lower risks of death/stroke; (1-49 cases (9.6% (95% CI 7.5-11.8); 50-99 cases (9.1% (95% CI 6.4-11.8); 100+ cases (8.4% (95% CI 6.9-10.1) (p = 0.64)). Patients with severe bilateral carotid disease were significantly more likely to suffer death and/or stroke compared to patients with unilateral disease (odds ratio 2.5, 95% CI 1.4-5.0, p = 0.001). Similarly, patients with a prior history of stroke/transient ischaemic attack (TIA) were significantly more likely to suffer a further stroke than asymptomatic patients (odds ratio 1.8, 95% CI 1.1-2.8, p = 0.008). There was no difference in the risk of death/stroke relative to the timing of CEA (pre- versus on-cardiopulmonary bypass), but recent small studies indicate that improved outcomes might be achieved by performing CABG 'off-bypass'.
Conclusions: Synchronous CEA + CABG is associated with a not insignificant cardiovascular risk. No comparable information is available for similar patients undergoing CABG without prophylactic CEA.