American journal of health-system pharmacy : AJHP : official journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
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Am J Health Syst Pharm · Sep 2005
Review Meta AnalysisImproving clinical outcomes in coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
Medical decisions are often made based on personal experience or on limited clinical trial information. Results from systematic reviews of clinical trials, however, provide a more thorough understanding of available data and can foster evidence-based decision making. Data from a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical outcomes after aprotinin treatment during coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery have recently been published. This analysis was performed to further address concerns that aprotinin safety often outweighs the well-established transfusion reduction benefits. ⋯ Results from this systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in CABG surgery patients have shown that aprotinin was associated with a reduction in the need for blood transfusion, but was not associated with an increase in mortality, myocardial infarction, or renal failure risk. Evidence also suggests that aprotinin was associated with a reduced stroke risk and a trend toward a reduced incidence of atrial fibrillation.