Bilateral internal thoracic artery grafting in haemodialysis patients with diabetic nephropathy.

OBJECTIVES To compare postoperative outcomes in patients with diabetic nephropathy receiving haemodialysis and undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) using bilateral or single skeletonized internal thoracic artery (ITA). METHODS Among 1441 consecutive patients undergoing isolated CABG between 2002 and 2019 at our university hospital, we retrospectively analysed data for 107 patients with diabetic nephropathy receiving haemodialysis. After inverse probability of treatment weighting, we found no statistically significant differences regarding patients' preoperative characteristics. RESULTS All patients underwent myocardial revascularization using the off-pump technique. There was no statistical significance in postoperative deep sternal wound infection (P = 0.902) and 30-day mortality (P = 0.755). However, the bilateral ITA group had a lower rate of postoperative stroke versus the single group (0% vs 5.5%, respectively; P = 0.021). Follow-up was completed in 95.3% (102/107) of the patients, and the mean follow-up duration was 3.3 years. Thirty-eight deaths occurred in the bilateral ITA group and 18 in the single ITA group. There was no significant difference in all-cause death (P = 0.558) and cardiac death rates (P = 0.727). Multivariable Cox regression models showed that the independent predictors of all-cause death were age [hazard ratio (HR) 1.031; P = 0.010], previous percutaneous intervention (HR 1.757; P = 0.009) and gastroepiploic artery grafting (HR 0.582; P = 0.026). CONCLUSIONS Bilateral ITA grafting in patients with diabetic nephropathy receiving haemodialysis did not improve mid-term outcomes.