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.