Beyond the incision: assessing bleeding risks in early aspirin administration post coronary artery bypass grafting.

BACKGROUND

Guidelines recommend early aspirin loading (150-325 mg) within 6 h of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), which improves patency of vein grafts. Due to bleeding concerns, this is not standard practice.

AIMS: The aim of this study is to review early aspirin administration, within 6 h of CABG, to determine if there is an increased risk of bleeding.

METHODS

Bleeding risk was evaluated in 160 patients, undergoing CABG procedure from January 2022 to February 2023. Patients were divided into two groups: those that received 300 mg of aspirin within 6 h (group 1) and those that did not (group 2). Drainage output from different timepoints, red cell, platelet transfusion rates, pericardial effusion, and re-exploration for bleeding were reviewed. Statistical analysis was performed using STATA/BE version 18.0. Significance was demonstrated when p value < 0.05.

RESULTS

Mean output drainage at 24 h was 695.7 mL for group 1 and 712.7 mL for group 2. Considering 11 timepoints, there were no significant difference between groups (p values = 0.731-0.117). Transfusion rates for red cells (p = 0.734) and platelets (p = 0.274), re-exploration for bleeding (p = 0.694), and pericardial effusion rates (p = 0.472) also showed no statistical difference.

CONCLUSIONS

A comprehensive review of drainage output, red cell, platelet transfusion, re-exploration for bleeding, and pericardial effusion rates was performed, post early aspirin administration. Aspirin (300 mg) given within 6 h of CABG surgery did not lead to increased bleeding and associated complications.