European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Aug 2016
Review Meta AnalysisMeta-analysis of concomitant mitral valve repair and coronary artery bypass surgery versus isolated coronary artery bypass surgery in patients with moderate ischaemic mitral regurgitation.
Ischaemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) is a complication of coronary artery disease with normal chordal and leaflet morphology. Controversy surrounds the issue of appropriate surgical management of moderate IMR. With the present meta-analysis, we aimed to determine whether the addition of mitral valve (MV) repair to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) improved clinical outcome over CABG alone in patients with moderate IMR. ⋯ Risk of residual MR grade ≥2 was higher in the CABG only group [all studies: RR 0.30 (95% CI 0.16, 0.60), P < 0.001, I(2) = 83%; RCTs only: RR 0.20 (95% CI 0.04, 0.90), P = 0.04, I(2) = 72%]. There is neither increased operative mortality nor survival benefit associated with concomitant CABG and MV repair for IMR of moderate degree over CABG alone. Further studies with long-term follow-up data and sub-group analyses of current data are needed to define a subset of patients whose survival and functional status may improve with the concomitant MV repair.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · May 2016
Meta AnalysisSafety and efficacy of miniaturized extracorporeal circulation when compared with off-pump and conventional coronary artery bypass grafting: evidence synthesis from a comprehensive Bayesian-framework network meta-analysis of 134 randomized controlled trials involving 22 778 patients.
Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) remains the standard of care in patients with extensive coronary artery disease. Yet the use of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is believed to be a major determinant of perioperative morbidity. Novel techniques are sought to tackle the shortcomings of CPB, among them off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) and miniaturized extracorporeal circulation (MECC) systems have been extensively tested in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). To assess perioperative safety and efficacy of MECC and OPCAB when compared with conventional extracorporeal circulation (CECC). ⋯ MECC and OPCAB both improve perioperative outcomes following coronary bypass surgery when compared with conventional CABG performed with extracorporeal circulation. MECC may represent an attractive compromise between OPCAB and CECC.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Mar 2016
Review Meta AnalysisDiagnostic value of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin for early diagnosis of cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury: a meta-analysis.
Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) has been identified as one of the most sensitive and specific biomarkers for predicting cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI); however, variable performance characteristics have been reported. We therefore performed a diagnostic meta-analysis to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of NGAL in early (within 12 h postoperatively) diagnosis of CSA-AKI using established guidelines. The search was carried out electronically with Medline (through PubMed interface), Embase, Cochrane library, ISI Web of Science, Scopus and ClinicalTrials.gov (up to 5 September 2014), and hand-searching was also done. ⋯ Both plasma/serum and urine NGAL had the highly predictive nature for early diagnosis of CSA-AKI (DOR, 13.09; AUC, 0.85 vs DOR, 13.20; AUC, 0.88), while lower DOR and AUC values were shown (DOR, 8.31; AUC, 0.81) when measured using standardized clinical platforms, compared with research-based assays (DOR, 19.22; AUC, 0.89). I(2)-values showed substantial heterogeneity, which mainly stems from characteristics of patient population (P = 0.037). NGAL diagnostic accuracy in early detection of CSA-AKI is high, especially in neonates/children or adults with normal baseline renal function.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Feb 2016
Meta AnalysisSuction on chest drains following lung resection: evidence and practice are not aligned.
A best evidence topic in Interactive CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery (2006) looked at application of suction to chest drains following pulmonary lobectomy. After screening 391 papers, the authors analysed six studies (five randomized controlled trials [RCTs]) and found no evidence in favour of postoperative suction in terms of air leak duration, time to chest drain removal or length of stay. Indeed, suction was found to be detrimental in four studies. We sought to determine whether clinical practice is consistent with published evidence by surveying thoracic units nationally and performing a meta-analysis of current best evidence. ⋯ Application of suction to chest drains following non-pneumonectomy lung resection is common practice. Suction has an effect in hastening the removal of air and fluid in clinical experience but a policy of suction after lung resection has not been shown to offer improved clinical outcomes. Clinical practice is not aligned with Level 1a evidence.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Jan 2016
Review Meta AnalysisPreoperative intra-aortic counterpulsation in high-risk patients undergoing cardiac surgery: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials†.
In contrast to the results of previous studies, recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) failed to show a benefit of prophylactic aortic counterpulsation in high-risk patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The present analysis aims to redefine the effects of this treatment modality in the light of this new evidence. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL/CCTR, Google Scholar and reference lists of relevant articles were searched for full-text articles of RCTs in English or German. ⋯ Preoperative IABP implantation was associated with a reduction of intensive care unit (ICU) stay in all investigated populations with a greater effect in the total population [fixed-effects model: standard mean difference (SMD) -0.931 ± 0.198, P < 0.001] as well as in the subgroup of CAGB patients (fixed-effects model: SMD -1.240 ± 0.156, P < 0.001), compared with the off-pump group (fixed-effects model: SMD -0.723 ± 0.128, P < 0.001). Despite contradictory results from recent trials, the present study confirms the findings of previous meta-analyses that prophylactic aortic counterpulsation reduces hospital mortality, incidence of LCOS and ICU requirement in high-risk patients undergoing on-pump cardiac surgery. However, owing to small sample sizes and the lack of a clear-cut definition of high-risk patients, an adequately powered, prospective RCT is necessary to find a definite answer to the question, if certain groups of patients undergoing cardiac surgery benefit from a prophylactic IABP insertion.