Early removal of chest drains in patients following off-pump coronary artery bypass graft (OPCAB) is not inferior to standard care – study in the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) group

INTRODUCTION: Only a few studies have concerned the timing of chest drains’ removal in cardiac surgery patients following the coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). None of them pertained to the off-pump CABG (OPCAB) procedure. AIM: To compare thoracic drainage time in OPCAB patients before the implementation of the institutional Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol and after that. MATERIAL AND METHODS: It was a single-center observational study concerning patients following OPCAB. Two groups of patients were analyzed: after implementing the ERAS protocol, the ERAS group, and before this period, the standard care group (STAND group). The primary outcome of this study was to compare postoperative drainage time in the ERAS and STAND groups. The other outcomes included comparing transfused blood products, postoperative complications, surgical technique, postoperative ventilation and the intensive care unit stay time. RESULTS: Sixty patients in the ERAS and 112 in the STAND group were analyzed. The postoperative drainage time was shorter in the ERAS than in the STAND group: 20 (17–22) vs. 30 (27–35) h, p < 0.001. The number of transfused blood products was similar in both groups. No difference was noted between groups according to surgery and anesthesia time. However, patients in the ERAS group were ventilated for a significantly shorter time after the surgery and spent less time in the ICU than the STAND group. The number of postoperative complications in the ERAS and STAND group was 14 and 27, p = 1. CONCLUSIONS: The early removal of chest drains after OPCAB does not increase the risk of postoperative complications and demand for blood products. However, its impact on patients’ morbidity needs further studies.