Association of Liver Dysfunction with Outcomes after Cardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background: To perform a meta-analysis of studies reporting outcomes in patients with liver dysfunction addressed by the model of end-stage liver disease (MELD) and Child–Turcotte–Pugh (CTP) scores undergoing cardiac surgery.

Method: A systematic literature search was conducted to identify contemporary studies reporting short- and long-term outcomes in patients with liver dysfunction compared with patients with no or mild liver dysfunction undergoing cardiac surgery (stratified in high and low score group based on the study cutoffs). Primary outcome was perioperative mortality. Secondary outcomes were perioperative neurological events, prolonged ventilation, sepsis, bleeding and/or need for transfusion, acute kidney injury, and long-term mortality.

Results: A total of 33 studies with 48,891 patients were included. Compared with the low score group, being in the high score group was associated with significantly higher risk of perioperative mortality (OR: 3.72, 95% CI: 2.75–5.03, p < 0.001). High score group was also associated with a significantly higher rate of perioperative neurological events (OR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.30–1.71, p < 0.001), prolonged ventilation (OR: 2.45, 95% CI: 1.94–3.09, p < 0.001), sepsis (OR: 3.88, 95% CI: 2.07–7.26, p < 0.001), bleeding and/or need for transfusion (OR: 1.95, 95% CI: 1.43–2.64, p < 0.001), acute kidney injury (OR: 3.84, 95% CI: 2.12–6.98, p < 0.001), and long-term mortality (IRR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.69–0.88, p < 0.001). At meta-regression, the assessed variables did not show any significant association with the pooled estimate for perioperative mortality.

Conclusion: The analysis suggests that liver dysfunction in patients undergoing cardiac surgery is independently associated with higher risk of short and long-term mortality and also with an increased occurrence of various perioperative adverse events.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
28. Januar 2023