Reference: Afilalo J, RAsti M, Ohayon SM, et al. Off-pump vs on-pump coronary artery bypass surgery: an updated meta-analysis and meta-reggresion of randomized trials. Eur Heart J 2011. Epub ahead of print.

Patients who undergo off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery experience nearly one-third fewer postoperative strokes than those who receive standard surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass. However, the 2 procedures yield similar rates of early mortality and myocardial infarction, according to an updated meta-analysis published online October 10, 2011, ahead of print in the European Heart Journal.

Jonathan Afilalo, MD, and colleagues at McGill University (Montreal, Canada) performed a meta-analysis of 59 randomized trials pulled from the medical literature and multiple databases through January 2011 that reported in-hospital or 30-day clinical outcomes. The pooled data comprised 8,961 patients randomized to off-pump (n = 4,461) or on-pump (n = 4,500) CABG.

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