Depression predicts perioperative outcomes following coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

OBJECTIVES: To assess preoperative depression in middle-aged men undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) and to determine if depression is related to perioperative outcomes.

DESIGN: One hundred and nine middle-aged male patients were randomly selected and assessed for depression one day before CABG using the Symptom Checklist-90 Revised (SCL-90R). Perioperative outcomes were: (1) postoperative length of hospital stay, (2) the presence of any early complications (at intensive care unit), and (3) the presence of any late complications (at cardiac surgery unit).

RESULTS: Twenty-five (23%) patients had a high level of depression. Preoperative depression scores significantly predicted postoperative length of hospital stay (p < 0.001) and the incidence of late perioperative complications (p < 0.05) independently from biomedical and sociodemographic factors. Each increase in depression T score increased the odds of occurrence of late complications by 10% (p = 0.018, CI 95% 1.02-1.19).

CONCLUSIONS: Depression is common in middle-aged men undergoing CABG and is an independent predictor of postoperative length of hospital stay and late perioperative complications.