Baseline characteristics and operative data
The 2019 group included 173 patients, while group 2020 included 108 patients, accounting for a reduction in cases of more than a third from the previous year (37.5%). Baseline characteristics of patients in both groups were similar. The mean age was 64±14 years and 70% were men. Furthermore, both groups were similar in terms of previous medical history and pre-existing conditions including hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, insulin dependence, chronic renal failure, dialysis therapy, peripheral vascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary hypertension, prior cerebral event, previous cardiac surgery and atrial fibrillation (Table 1). Both groups had similar rates of previous revascularization interventions including both percutaneous cardiac intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). However, there was a trend toward a higher EuroSCORE in the 2020 compared to the 2019 group (Table 1). Additionally, compared to the 2019 group, patients in the 2020 group were found to have more severe symptoms, reflected by higher New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class IV (2.4% vs. 6.2%, p=0.007).
While patients from both years underwent similar surgical procedures, patients in the 2020 group had significantly longer cross-clamp time (68±30 vs. 107±88 minutes, p=0.005) (Table 2).