Background and Objectives: Prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stay following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) remains a major clinical challenge. The aim of this study was to identify preoperative and intraoperative factors that may predict prolonged ICU requirement in patients undergoing isolated CABG and to evaluate the impact of minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation (MiECC) utilization on this outcome. Materials and Methods: Patients who underwent isolated CABG between January 2024 and April 2025 were retrospectively analyzed. Prolonged ICU stay was defined as a postoperative intensive care duration exceeding 72 h. Predictors of prolonged ICU stay were evaluated using univariate logistic regression and four multivariable logistic regression models. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess the discriminative performance of significant and clinically relevant variables as well as the multivariable models. Results: A total of 82 patients were included and stratified into a prolonged ICU stay group (n = 32) and a non-prolonged ICU stay group (n = 50). The preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was significantly lower (52.5% vs. 60%, p = 0.012) and preoperative leukocyte counts significantly elevated (8.4 vs. 7.97 × 10³/µL, p = 0.049) in the prolonged stay group. MiECC was employed in 28.1% of patients with a prolonged ICU stay and 30% of those with a non-prolonged stay (p = 0.530). Across four multivariable logistic regression models, lower preoperative ejection fraction and higher preoperative leukocyte count were identified as independent predictors of prolonged ICU stay, whereas MiECC utilization was not independently associated with this outcome. Conclusions: Lower preoperative ejection fraction and higher baseline leukocyte count were independently associated with prolonged ICU stay. No independent association between MiECC utilization and prolonged ICU stay could be demonstrated. These findings suggest that preoperative cardiac function and inflammatory status may contribute to ICU requirements following isolated CABG. Further prospective studies are warranted to validate these findings.

Objectives: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) remains a fundamental surgical treatment for advanced coronary artery disease. With the increasing use of large language models to obtain health information, patients are increasingly turning to these systems to understand surgical options. However, their performance in generating patient-oriented CABG information has not been sufficiently evaluated. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the responses generated by ChatGPT and DeepSeek-R1 to patient questions about CABG in terms of scientific accuracy, comprehensibility, and level of unnecessary detail. Methods: Forty patient-oriented questions were developed based on online sources and clinical experience. Responses were obtained from ChatGPT and DeepSeek under standardized conditions. A blinded panel of four cardiovascular surgeons evaluated the responses using a five-point Likert scale across three domains. Statistical analyses were performed using paired tests. Results: DeepSeek generated significantly longer responses than ChatGPT (212.88 ± 48.13 vs. 188.7 ± 50.34 words; p < 0.001). Accuracy scores were higher for DeepSeek (median 4.5 vs. 4.25; p = 0.004), whereas comprehensibility and unnecessary detail scores were similar between the models. Overall scores were high for both models (4.32 ± 0.28 vs. 4.27 ± 0.30; p = 0.34). Conclusions: The responses generated by both models were generally evaluated favorably by the expert panel, with only limited differences observed between them. DeepSeek demonstrated higher accuracy, whereas ChatGPT tended to produce shorter and more concise responses. However, given the variability observed at the individual-question level, these findings should be interpreted with caution. Large language models may support patient information delivery but should not be considered reliable stand-alone sources for clinical decision-making or patient counseling.

Background: The Albumin–Bilirubin (ALBI) score is an easy-to-use, objective marker of liver synthetic function that has demonstrated prognostic value in various cardiovascular conditions. However, its role in predicting postoperative bleeding after CABG has not been previously investigated. Methods: Patients were divided into two groups according to their median preoperative ALBI score (−2.97): Low ALBI (n = 78) and High ALBI (n = 79). The primary outcome was excessive postoperative bleeding, defined as cumulative drainage exceeding 1000 mL within the first 24 postoperative hours. Secondary outcomes included transfusion requirements, mechanical ventilation duration, and length of hospital stay. Correlation and regression analyses were performed to assess the relationship between the ALBI score and postoperative bleeding. Results: The High ALBI group demonstrated a significantly greater postoperative drainage volume (450 [350–700] mL vs. 350 [300–487.5] mL, p = 0.007), higher erythrocyte transfusion (p = 0.001) and fresh frozen plasma transfusion requirements (p = 0.034), and prolonged mechanical ventilation duration (p < 0.001) and hospital stay (p = 0.003) compared to the Low ALBI group. Spearman correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between the ALBI score and drainage volume (rho = 0.272, p < 0.001), and thus the ALBI score was identified as a significant predictor of excessive postoperative bleeding exceeding 1000 mL (OR: 5.93, 95% CI: 1.63–21.60, p = 0.007). Conclusions: The preoperative ALBI score is an easy-to-use and readily available tool that may serve as an effective adjunct for identifying patients at an elevated risk of postoperative bleeding prior to isolated CABG.