Temporal Trends of Outcomes for Nonagenarians Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting, 1993 to 1999 † [†] The contents of this report are solely the responsibility of the investigators and do not necessarily represent the official views of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reviewed and approved the use of its data for this work and approved the submission of the manuscript; this approval was based on data use only and does not represent a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services endorsement of or comment on the contents of this report. Neither the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nor the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services played a role in the design and conduct of the study or in the analysis and interpretation of the data. All investigators had full access to the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the analysis.

Temporal trends in length of stay, discharge disposition, and long-term mortality outcomes were examined in nonagenarians who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) from 1993 to 1999. A total of 4,224 fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries (2,068 women, 2,156 men) aged ≥90 years underwent CABG from 1993 to 1999. The number of procedures increased from 325 in 1993 to 883 in 1999 among all fee-for-service Medicare patients aged ≥65 years. Approximately half of CABG procedures were performed on women each year. The mean length of stay decreased from 18.0 ± 10.8 to 13.3 ± 8.8 days from 1993 to 1999 but remained longer for women (p <0.001). A greater percentage of women than men were discharged to skilled nursing facilities. The overall crude mortality rates remained relatively stable at 13.5% at 30 days and 59.0% at 5 years. Men and women had comparable short-term mortality outcomes, but men had higher mortality rates for 2- to 5-year outcomes. In conclusion, the number of CABG procedures in nonagenarians is increasing, with a substantial portion attaining survivorship that is equivalent to projected life expectancy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]