Trends in Cardiovascular Surgery in South Korea: A Nationwide Cohort Study from 2010 to 2019

Objectives: We aimed to investigate mortality and its associated factors in cardiovascular surgery -associated intensive care unit (ICU) admissions in South Korea from 2010 to 2019.Design: Population-based cohort study.Setting: Data from the National Health Insurance Service database in South Korea were used in this study.Participants: All adult patients admitted to the ICU associated with cardiovascular surgery in South Korea between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2019 were analyzed.Interventions: None.Measurements and Main Results: A total of 62,794 ICU admissions associated with cardiovascular surgery were included in the analysis (median value of age: 65 years; 58.0% men). This included patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) only (n = 10,704), valve-only surgery (n = 35,812), CABG + valve surgery (n = 3,230), aortic procedures (n = 7,968), and others (n = 5,080). The number of cardiovascular surgeries associated with ICU admissions was 4,409 in 2010, which gradually increased to 10,366 in 2019. The aortic procedure group had the highest 1-year mortality rate after cardiovascular surgery (15.7%), followed by the CABG + valve (13.2%), others (11.5%), CABG-only (9.5%), and valve-only (8.7%) groups. Invasive life support procedures during the ICU stay and hospital admission through the emergency room were potential risk factors for 1-year mortality after cardiovascular surgery.Conclusions: Cardiovascular surgery -associated intensive care admissions gradually increased from 2010 to 2019 in South Korea. Among these patients, the highest 1-year mortality rate was observed in the aortic procedures group, followed by the CABG + valve, others, CABGonly, and valve-only groups.& COPY; 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.