The Association of Preoperative Depression, and C-Reactive Protein Levels with a Postoperative Length of Stay in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

This study aimed to explore the role of preoperative and postoperative C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in mediating the association between the preoperative depression symptoms and postoperative length of stay in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Preoperative depression symptoms of 212 elective CABG patients were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). The patient’s demographic and clinical parameters were collected from medical records prior to surgery. Patients were followed up during their in-hospital stay to measure early (1–3 days post-surgery) and persistent (4–6 days post-surgery) CRP response to CABG surgery. The higher persistent CRP response was significantly (p < 0.001) associated with a longer postoperative hospital stay. The binary logistic regression analysis confirmed the association of persistent CRP change with prolonged hospital stay (OR = 1.017, 95% CI = 1.005–1.029, p = 0.009). However, when the gender subgroups were analyzed separately, that remained significant (OR = 1.016, 95% CI = 1.004–1.028, p = 0.005) only for the male subgroup. There was no significant association between elevated BDI-II depression scores and longer postoperative hospital stay. Additionally, no significant influence of BDI-II scores on preoperative or postoperative CRP levels, or vice versa, was detected. Further work is needed to explore the extent and pathways through which depression might influence the postoperative recovery of CABG patients.