Peritoneal Dialysis Vs Diuretics in Children After Congenital Heart Surgery

This study sought to evaluate outcomes of patients undergoing congenital heart surgery who underwent peritoneal dialysis (PD) vs a diuretic regimen.

This study conducted a comprehensive search in Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from the databases' inception through April 24, 2018. Independent reviewers selected studies and extracted data. A random effects meta-analysis was performed to pool the outcomes of interest across studies.

A total of 8 studies (2 prospective studies, 2 randomized clinical trials, and 4 retrospective studies) with 507 patients were included in this review. A total of 204 (40%) patients underwent PD, whereas the remaining patients underwent fluid removal with diuretics. The analyses demonstrated a significantly shorter time of mechanical ventilation in those patients who underwent PD (mean difference, -1.25 days; 95% confidence interval, -2.18 to -0.33; P = .008) and increased odds of mortality (odds ratio, 2.27; 95% confidence interval, 1.13 to 4.56; P = .02) compared with the diuretic group. No differences were identified in terms of incidence of negative fluid balance by postoperative day 1, presence of peritonitis, and intensive care unit length of stay.

The meta-analysis did not identify differences between the 2 groups with regard to negative fluid balance after postoperative day 1, incidence of peritonitis, or length of intensive care unit stay. There is a need for large, prospective, multicenter studies to evaluate the benefits and complications associated with PD use further in selected children after congenital heart surgery. Because some of the outcomes were present in only 2 studies, results from the pooled analysis may be underpowered.