[Coronary revascularization for patients requiring steroids. A report of three cases].

Three patients with systemic disease requiring steroids, in whom coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) was performed, are reported in this paper, Anesthetic problems and operative managements for such patients are also discussed. Patient 1, 57-year-old male with thrombocytosis underwent emergency double CABG using saphenous vein and the Bioflow graft. He discharged with freedom from angina. Patient 2, 59-year-old male with polymyositis who had been receiving steroid for 10 years underwent quadruple CABG using bilateral internal thoracic arteries with sequential technique and the Bioflow graft, but he died of multiple organ failure on 16 days after operation. Postmortem examination revealed that coronary artery sclerosis progressed more severely than we had expected from angiography. All the graft anastomosed were completely patent. Histological examination showed that the saphenous vein was fragile. The pathological changes might be due to steroid administration. On the other hand, arterial grafts were completely normal. Patient 3, 37-year-old male with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura who had been on steroids underwent combined triple CABG using internal thoracic artery, gastroepiploic artery and the Bioflow graft and splenectomy. He discharged with freedom from angina and tendency to bleed. Postoperative angiography showed both arterial grafts were well patent and left ventricular wall motion vastly improved. From our experience, a careful consideration of the bypass conduit is a major problem in such patients requiring steroids.