ISSN : 1301-5680
e-ISSN : 2149-8156
Turkish Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery     
Predictors and outcomes of gastrointestinal complications after cardiac surgery: A systematic review and meta?analysis
Zihni Mert Duman1, Muhammed Bayram2, Barış Timur3, Mustafa Can Kaplan2, Timuçin Aksu2
1Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Cizre State Hospital, Şırnak, Türkiye
2Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Istanbul Mehmet Akif Ersoy Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Türkiye
3Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Istanbul Siyami Ersek Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Türkiye
DOI : 10.5606/tgkdc.dergisi.2023.24003
Background: In this systematic review, we aimed to examine the risk factors and surgical outcomes of gastrointestinal complications using the meta-analysis techniques.

Methods: Studies involving patients with and without gastrointestinal complications after cardiac surgery were electronically searched using the PubMed database, Cochrane Library and Scopus database, between January 2000 and May 2022. Some studies on gastrointestinal complications examined only single gastrointestinal complication (only intestinal ischemia, only gastrointestinal bleeding or only liver failure). Studies evaluating at least three different gastrointestinal complications were included in the meta-analysis to reduce the heterogeneity. Cohort series that did not compare outcomes of patients with and without gastrointestinal complications, studies conducted in a country"s health system databases, review articles, small case series (<10 patients) were excluded from the meta-analysis.

Results: Twenty-five studies (8 prospective and 17 retrospective) with 116,105 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled incidence of gastrointestinal complications was 2.51%. Patients with gastrointestinal complications were older (mean difference [MD]=4.88 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.85-6.92]; p<0.001) and had longer cardiopulmonary bypass times (MD=17.7 [95% CI: 4.81-30.5]; p=0.007). In-hospital mortality occurred in 423 of 1,640 (25.8%) patients with gastrointestinal complications. In-hospital mortality was 11.8 times higher in patients with gastrointestinal complications (odds ratio [OR]=11.8 [95% CI: 9.5-14.8]; p<0.001).

Conclusion: The development of gastrointestinal complications after cardiac surgery is more commonly seen in patients with comorbidities. In-hospital mortality after cardiac surgery is 11.8 times higher in patients with gastrointestinal complications than in patients without.

Keywords : Cardiac surgical procedures, gastrointestinal tract, postoperative complications
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