‘ Identi & ation of Preoperative Variables Needed for Risk Adjustment ‘ of Short-Term Mortalitjr After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

Olyktives. The purpose of this cwsensus efort was to define and prioritize the importance of a set of clinical variables useful for monitoring and improving the short-term mortality of patients undergoing cornnary artery bypass graft surgery (CABC). Baclrground. Despite widespread use of data bases to monitor the outcome of patients undergoing CABG, no consistent set of clinical variables has been defined for risk adjustment of observed .mtcomes for baseline digerences in disease severity among patients. Methods. Experts with a background in epidemiology, biostatistics and clinical care with an interest in assessing outcomes of CABG derived from previous work with profezsional societies, government or academic institutions volunteered to participate in this unsponsored cnnsensus process. Two meetings of this ad hoc working gmup were required tc define and prioritize clinical variables into core, level 1 or level 2 groupings to reflect their importance for relating to short-term mortality after CABG. Definitions of these 44 variables were simple and specific to enhance objectivity of the i core, 13 level 1 and 24 level 2 variables.