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Strategies for prevention and management of bleeding following pediatric cardiac surgery on cardiopulmonary bypass: a scoping review
Siemens K, Sangaran DP, Hunt BJ, Murdoch IA, Tibby SM
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine : a Journal of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies. 2017;19((1):):40-47
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We aimed to systematically describe, via a scoping review, the literature reporting strategies for prevention and management of mediastinal bleeding post pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass surgery. DATA SOURCES MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, and Cochrane CENTRAL Register. STUDY SELECTION Two authors independently screened publications from 1980 to 2016 reporting the effect of therapeutic interventions on bleeding-related postoperative outcomes, including mediastinal drain loss, transfusion, chest re-exploration rate, and coagulation variables. Inclusions: less than 18 years, cardiac surgery on cardiopulmonary bypass. DATA EXTRACTION Data from eligible studies were extracted using a standard data collection sheet. DATA SYNTHESIS Overall, 299 of 7,434 screened articles were included, with observational studies being almost twice as common (n = 187, 63%) than controlled trials (n = 112, 38%). The most frequently evaluated interventions were antifibrinolytic drugs (75 studies, 25%), blood products (59 studies, 20%), point-of-care testing (47 studies, 16%), and cardiopulmonary bypass circuit modifications (46 studies, 15%). The publication rate for controlled trials remained constant over time (4-6/yr); however, trials were small (median participants, 51; interquartile range, 57) and overwhelmingly single center (98%). Controlled trials originated from 22 countries, with the United States, India, and Germany accounting for 50%. The commonest outcomes were mediastinal blood loss and transfusion requirements; however, these were defined inconsistently (blood loss being reported over nine different time periods). The majority of trials were aimed at bleeding prevention (98%) rather than treatment (10%), nine studies assessed both. CONCLUSIONS Overall, this review demonstrates small trial sizes, low level of evidence, and marked heterogeneity of reported endpoints in the included studies. The need for more, higher quality studies reporting clinically relevant, comparable outcomes is highlighted. Emerging fields such as the use of coagulation factor concentrates, goal-directed guidelines, and anti-inflammatory therapies appear to be of particular interest. This scoping review can potentially guide future trial design and form the basis for therapy-specific systematic reviews.