Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42644803›Full record

Observational studyInterdisciplinary cardiovascular and thoracic surgery2026

Surgical Outcomes of in situ Internal Thoracic Artery Grafting in Patients with Ipsilateral Upper-Extremity Arteriovenous Fistulas.

Chijioke Chukwudi, Ruby Singh, Arian Mansur, Benjamin Grobman, Patrick Udeh, Jordan Bloom, George Tolis, David A D'Alessandro, Thoralf M Sundt, Asishana A Osho

Abstract readMulticenter StudyObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Interdisciplinary cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Chijioke ChukwudiDepartment of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-4711-1264
Ruby SinghDivision of Cardiac Surgery, Mass General Brigham, Boston, MA 02114, United States.
Arian MansurDepartment of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Stanford Medicine, Palo Alto, CA 94305, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-2406-5127
Benjamin GrobmanHarvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, United States.
Patrick UdehDivision of Cardiac Surgery, Mass General Brigham, Boston, MA 02114, United States.
Jordan BloomDivision of Cardiac Surgery, Mass General Brigham, Boston, MA 02114, United States.
George TolisDivision of Cardiac Surgery, Mass General Brigham, Boston, MA 02114, United States.
David A D'AlessandroDivision of Cardiac Surgery, Mass General Brigham, Boston, MA 02114, United States.
Thoralf M SundtDivision of Cardiac Surgery, Mass General Brigham, Boston, MA 02114, United States.
Asishana A OshoDivision of Cardiac Surgery, Mass General Brigham, Boston, MA 02114, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-1140-097X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThe use of in situ internal thoracic artery (ITA) grafts ipsilateral to upper extremity arterio-venous fistulas (UE-AVFs) during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in dialysis-dependent patients raises concerns of coronary steal and compromised graft perfusion. However, the clinical significance of ITA-AVF laterality remains uncertain.

methodsWe retrospectively analysed dialysis-dependent patients who underwent CABG between February 2015 and December 2023 at 2 institutions. Patients with non-UE-AVF access, total vein grafting, or composite vein-artery configurations were excluded. The final cohort (N = 122) was divided into 2 groups: ipsilateral in situ ITA grafts (N = 66) and contralateral in situ or free ITA grafts (N = 56). The primary outcome was the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE); secondary outcomes included perioperative complications, haemodialysis-induced ischaemia, and 3-year survival.

resultsBaseline and operative characteristics were largely comparable between groups. Perioperative outcomes, including surgical site infection, 30-day mortality, and prolonged ventilation, showed no significant differences. Over a median follow-up of 2.4 years, MACCE occurred in 44% of patients (39% ipsilateral vs 50% contralateral/free ITA; P = .24), with no significant differences in 3-year mortality (29% vs 21%; P = .352). Multivariable analyses showed no association between ITA-AVF laterality and MACCE (adjusted odds ratio 0.68, P = .31) or 3-year mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 1.56, P = .291).

conclusionsIn this modestly sized retrospective cohort, ipsilateral in situ ITA grafting was not associated with significantly worse perioperative or long-term outcomes. Our findings should be interpreted as hypothesis-generating, and larger multicentre studies are needed to more definitively evaluate the safety of this grafting strategy in dialysis-dependent patients with UE-AVFs.

Indexed as

Arteriovenous Shunt, SurgicalCoronary Artery BypassMammary ArteriesRenal DialysisUpper ExtremityAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPostoperative ComplicationsRetrospective StudiesTreatment Outcomearteriovenous fistulascoronary artery bypass graftinghaemodialysisinternal thoracic artery

Identifiers

PMID42644803
PMCPMC13541775

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.