Background: Coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) is a common surgical operation usually
performed under cardiopulmonary bypass. Although the relationship between the transfusion of
blood products during and after surgery with the incidence of arrhythmia has been studied,
contradictory results have been achieved. In the current study, we investigated the correlation
between blood products transfusion during and after surgery with the incidence of postoperative
arrhythmia.
Method: Patients candidated for CABG were entered into the present cross-sectional study. The
incidence of arrhythmia (supraventricular and ventricular, transient or permanent), history of
medications and renal diseases, and transfusion of blood products during or after the operation
were recorded and analyzed.
Results: Twenty-two (8.2%) patients experienced atrial fibrillation and 50 (18.7%) experienced
premature ventricular contractions. The use of packed red blood cells in the operating room was
inversely correlated with the odds of the incidence of at least one of the arrhythmias (OR = 0.5,
95% CI: 0.28 to 0.87; P = 0.015). The number of grafts, high blood pressure, duration of
mechanical ventilation in the ICU, and the potassium level upon admission to the ICU were
directly correlated with the incidence of arrhythmia. Moreover, the transfusion of platelets in
the ICU and the use of cryoprecipitate in the operating room were inversely correlated with the
incidence of atrial fibrillation (not all arrhythmias).
Conclusions: According to the findings of the present study, conditionings to maintain the normal
hematocrit level and platelet count is associated with decreased odds of arrhythmia incidence
during and after CABG.