Radial-artery vs saphenous-vein grafts in CABG surgery

Editor's Note

In this study, the use of radial-artery grafts for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) resulted in a lower rate of cardiac adverse events and a higher rate of patency at 5 years than saphenous-vein grafts.

A total of 1,036 patients (534 radial artery, 502 saphenous vein) from six trials were analyzed. The use of radial-artery grafts was linked to a significantly lower risk of the composite outcome of death, myocardial infarction, or repeat revascularization (25 vs 39 events per 1,000 patient years) and with a significantly lower risk of two individual components−myocardial infarction (6 vs 9 per 1,000 patient years) and repeat revascularization (9 vs 17 per 1,000 patient years)−as well as higher rates of angiographic patency at a mean follow-up of 5 years (19 vs 46 events of graft occlusion per 1,000 patient years).

The incidence of death from any cause was similar between radial-artery and saphenous-vein grafts (15 and 17 per 1,000 patient years).