L G Passaglia1,2, G M de Barros1, M R de Sousa1,2. 1. School of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. 2. Postgraduate Program in Adult Health Sciences, Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies evaluating anticoagulation during the early postoperative period following mechanical heart valve implantation. METHODS: Five literature databases were searched to assess the rates of bleeding and thromboembolic events among patients receiving oral anticoagulation (OAC), both with and without bridging anticoagulation therapy with unfractionated heparin (UFH) or subcutaneous low molecular weight heparin (LMWH). The studies' results were pooled via a mixed effects meta-analysis. Heterogeneity (I(2) ) and publication bias were both evaluated. RESULTS: Twenty-three studies including 9534 patients were included. The bleeding rates were 1.8% (95% confidence interval CI 1.0-3.3) in the group receiving OAC, 2.2% (95% CI 0.9-5.3) in the OAC + UFH group, and 5.5% (95% CI 2.9-10.4) in the OAC + LMWH group (P = 0.042). The thromboembolic event rate was 2.1% (95% CI 1.5-2.9) in the group receiving OAC, as compared with 1.1% (95% CI 0.7-1.8) when the bridging therapy groups were combined as follows: OAC + UFH and OAC + LMWH (P = 0.035). Most of the analyses showed moderate heterogeneity and negative test results for publication bias. CONCLUSIONS: Bridging therapy following cardiac valve surgery was associated with a lower thromboembolic event rate, although the difference was small, with considerable overlap of the CIs. Direct comparisons are missing. Bridging therapy with UFH appears to be safe; however, this observation has a risk of bias. Early bridging therapy with LMWH appears to be associated with consistently high bleeding rates across multiple analyses. On the basis of the quality of the included studies, more trials are necessary to establish the clinical relevance of bridging therapy and the safety of LMWH.
OBJECTIVE: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies evaluating anticoagulation during the early postoperative period following mechanical heart valve implantation. METHODS: Five literature databases were searched to assess the rates of bleeding and thromboembolic events among patients receiving oral anticoagulation (OAC), both with and without bridging anticoagulation therapy with unfractionated heparin (UFH) or subcutaneous low molecular weight heparin (LMWH). The studies' results were pooled via a mixed effects meta-analysis. Heterogeneity (I(2) ) and publication bias were both evaluated. RESULTS: Twenty-three studies including 9534 patients were included. The bleeding rates were 1.8% (95% confidence interval CI 1.0-3.3) in the group receiving OAC, 2.2% (95% CI 0.9-5.3) in the OAC + UFH group, and 5.5% (95% CI 2.9-10.4) in the OAC + LMWH group (P = 0.042). The thromboembolic event rate was 2.1% (95% CI 1.5-2.9) in the group receiving OAC, as compared with 1.1% (95% CI 0.7-1.8) when the bridging therapy groups were combined as follows: OAC + UFH and OAC + LMWH (P = 0.035). Most of the analyses showed moderate heterogeneity and negative test results for publication bias. CONCLUSIONS: Bridging therapy following cardiac valve surgery was associated with a lower thromboembolic event rate, although the difference was small, with considerable overlap of the CIs. Direct comparisons are missing. Bridging therapy with UFH appears to be safe; however, this observation has a risk of bias. Early bridging therapy with LMWH appears to be associated with consistently high bleeding rates across multiple analyses. On the basis of the quality of the included studies, more trials are necessary to establish the clinical relevance of bridging therapy and the safety of LMWH.
Authors: Katarzyna Czerwińska-Jelonkiewicz; Marek Cisowski; Andrzej Bochenek; Piotr Buszman; Krzysztof Milewski; Piotr Kunik; Magdalena Mularska; Krzysztof Kocot; Piotr Politowski; Jakub Brączkowski; Agata Trznadel; Michael S Aboodi; Paweł Buszman Journal: Cardiol J Date: 2018-11-28 Impact factor: 2.737
Authors: Joji B Kuramatsu; Jochen A Sembill; Stefan T Gerner; Maximilian I Sprügel; Manuel Hagen; Sebastian S Roeder; Matthias Endres; Karl Georg Haeusler; Jan Sobesky; Johannes Schurig; Sarah Zweynert; Miriam Bauer; Peter Vajkoczy; Peter A Ringleb; Jan Purrucker; Timolaos Rizos; Jens Volkmann; Wolfgang Müllges; Peter Kraft; Anna-Lena Schubert; Frank Erbguth; Martin Nueckel; Peter D Schellinger; Jörg Glahn; Ulrich J Knappe; Gereon R Fink; Christian Dohmen; Henning Stetefeld; Anna Lena Fisse; Jens Minnerup; Georg Hagemann; Florian Rakers; Heinz Reichmann; Hauke Schneider; Sigrid Wöpking; Albert Christian Ludolph; Sebastian Stösser; Hermann Neugebauer; Joachim Röther; Peter Michels; Michael Schwarz; Gernot Reimann; Hansjörg Bäzner; Henning Schwert; Joseph Claßen; Dominik Michalski; Armin Grau; Frederick Palm; Christian Urbanek; Johannes C Wöhrle; Fahid Alshammari; Markus Horn; Dirk Bahner; Otto W Witte; Albrecht Günther; Gerhard F Hamann; Hannes Lücking; Arnd Dörfler; Stephan Achenbach; Stefan Schwab; Hagen B Huttner Journal: Eur Heart J Date: 2018-05-14 Impact factor: 29.983
Authors: Christina Pempe; Robert Werdehausen; Philip Pieroh; Martin Federbusch; Sirak Petros; Reinhard Henschler; Andreas Roth; Christian Pfrepper Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2021-02-23 Impact factor: 4.379
Authors: Andrew M Veitch; Franco Radaelli; Raza Alikhan; Jean-Marc Dumonceau; Diane Eaton; Jo Jerrome; Will Lester; David Nylander; Mo Thoufeeq; Geoffroy Vanbiervliet; James R Wilkinson; Jeanin E van Hooft Journal: Endoscopy Date: 2021-08-06 Impact factor: 10.093
Authors: Andrew M Veitch; Franco Radaelli; Raza Alikhan; Jean Marc Dumonceau; Diane Eaton; Jo Jerrome; Will Lester; David Nylander; Mo Thoufeeq; Geoffroy Vanbiervliet; James R Wilkinson; Jeanin E Van Hooft Journal: Gut Date: 2021-09 Impact factor: 23.059