Short-term assessment of radial artery grafts with multidetector computed tomography

BACKGROUND: The clinical use of the radial artery (RA) in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is still limited worldwide, although it has been recommended by several guidelines. Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) is widely used to evaluate graft patency, as invasive coronary angiography could cause potentially serious risks including bleeding, dissection and stroke. This study aims to report the short-term results of the RA in CABG with MDCT. METHODS: The study population consists of 41 consecutive patients undergoing elective CABG with the RA graft between 2017 to 2018, with MDCT performed to evaluate graft patency during follow-up, and target vessels for the RA were non-left anterior descending coronary arteries with > 70% stenosis. RESULTS: A total of 150 grafts were assessed by MDCT during follow-up (mean, 8.9 ± 5.1 months). MDCT could clearly show the structure and patency of grafts, even for complex coronary artery revascularization. Graft patency of the left internal mammary artery was 92.9% (39/42), with the RA patency of 84.4% (38/45) and the patency of the saphenous vein graft of 81.1% (30/37). And the RA anastomosed to the left coronary artery system might have better patency than the RA anastomosed to the right coronary artery system (25/29, 86.2% vs 13/16, 81.3%, p = 0.686). CONCLUSIONS: The short-term patency rate of RA grafts is good, and the RA might be associated with better patency when anastomosed to the left but not the right coronary artery. MDCT could provide excellent visualization of grafts in CABG.