Patients with diabetes mellitus have a worse hospital and long-term outcome after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) [1]. It has been shown that the non-insulin diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) group of patients on oral sulphonylureas have a higher mortality than those treated with insulin (IDDM) following myocardial infarction [2]. Oral sulphonylureas abolish ischaemic preconditioning, which is an important cardiac protective mechanism during the perioperative period of CABG [2]. Insulin resistance and hyper-glycaemia decrease arterial compliance, promote plaque growth and cause contractile dysfunction of the myocytes [3].

To analyse retrospectively outcome data in patients with NIDDM on oral sulphonylureas who underwent CABG.

From a total of 2537 patients who had CABG, outcome data was identified in 236 patients with NIDDM and in 130 patients with IDDM over a 2-year period (April 1999–March 2001). We compared the mortality, length of hospital stay, length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), reoperation rate, ICU re-admission rate and duration of operation with control patients, matched with respect to surgeon and risk score (EuroSCORE). We also compared the incidence of diabetes in Europe and North America with Papworth.

There was no difference in length of hospital stay, length of ICU stay, reoperation rate, ICU re-admission rate and the duration of operation.