Abstract

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is one of the common surgeries in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). It is more probable for patients with diabetes to undergo surgeries due to CAD and they have a higher mortality rate compared to the others. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of insulin infusion therapy on blood gas parameters in two groups of patients, eligible for CABG, defined as A: well controlled diabetes (HbA1C < 7) and B: non-diabetic patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We followed two groups of patients, defined as patients with and without diabetes who were candidates for CABG, between March 2010 and March 2012. Patients with diabetes underwent moderate or semi-tight glycemic control, using continuous intravenous insulin infusion. RESULTS: There were 13 male and 18 female subjects in the on-diabetic group and 11 male and 7 female patients in the controlled diabetic group. There was no significant difference between the studied participants regarding age, cardiac ejection fraction, blood pH and PO2 and PCO2 levels. CONCLUSIONS: CABG surgery adversely affects arterial blood gas (ABG) determinations. On the other hand, findings showed there is no significant difference in the ABG parameters between patients with well controlled diabetes and the ones without.