Effects of Opium Use on Early and Long-term Outcomes Following Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: A Systematic Review

Background: The role of opium use history in complications after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is still unclear. This study aimed to systematically review the effect of opium use history on the outcomes of CABG in patients with coronary heart disease. Methods: The present systematic review followed the guidelines for the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). Manuscript databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, were deeply searched by two blinded investigators for all studies based on the relevant keywords. Google Scholar, Research Gate, and the Cochrane Library were searched as well. Of the twenty-four studies initially collected by database searching, eight were eligible for the final analysis. Results: The results revealed that opium use history led to an increase in the risk of pulmonary and neurological complications, infections, bleeding volume, and atrial fibrillation in-hospital outcomes. In the evaluation of one-year outcomes after surgery, the findings showed an increase in hospital admissions in opium-consuming patients. In addition, in the examination of long-term outcomes, an increase in the risk of long-term mortality and, as a result, a decrease in the long-term survival of opium-using patients could be predicted following the use of opium; however, opium use did not have a significant effect on the long-term major adverse cardiovascular events of patients. Conclusion: Opium use history is a risk factor for the occurrence of postoperative hospital complications, the need for hospital readmission, and long-term CABG postoperative mortality.