Does preoperative clopidogrel increase bleeding after coronary bypass surgery?

Antiplatelet therapy has been demonstrated to reduce the risk of cardiac events in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome, yet all effective therapies also increase the risk of bleeding. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting, who received clopidogrel within 5 days before surgery, have worse bleeding outcomes and blood transfusion requirements than those who stopped clopidogrel >5 days earlier. We recruited 342 patients who underwent on-pump elective coronary artery bypass grafting between January 2004 and December 2008. Of these, 191 stopped taking clopidogrel >5 days earlier, and 151 stopped ≤5 days before surgery. Postoperative drainage after 8 and 12 h and the total drainage were similar in both groups. There was no significant difference in the amount of blood products used. There was no reexploration in either group. It was concluded that preoperative clopidogrel exposure does not increase the risk of hemostatic reoperation or the requirements for blood and blood product transfusion during and after coronary artery bypass grafting.