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Perioperative goal-directed therapy and postoperative complications in different kind of surgical procedures: an
Mariateresa Giglio1, Giandomenico Biancofiore2, Alberto Corriero3
1Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit, Policlinico di Bari, Piazza G. Cesare, 11, 70124, Bari, Italy. mariateresagiglio@gmail.com.
Insights
Goal-directed therapy (GDT) reduces postoperative complications across various surgical types. This meta-analysis of 52 RCTs found GDT significantly lowered complication rates in major abdominal, orthopedic, and neurosurgical procedures.
Area of Science:
- Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine
- Surgical Outcomes Research
Background:
- Goal-directed therapy (GDT) optimizes tissue perfusion using hemodynamic monitoring to guide fluid and vasopressor administration.
- Existing evidence suggests GDT reduces postoperative complications, primarily in high-risk patients undergoing major abdominal surgery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of perioperative GDT on the overall incidence of postoperative complications in diverse surgical procedures.
- To conduct subgroup analyses based on surgical type to identify specific benefits of GDT.
Main Methods:
- A systematic meta-analysis of 52 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 6325 adult surgical patients.
- Primary outcome: incidence of at least one postoperative complication. Subgroup analysis by surgical type: major abdominal, vascular, orthopedic, and neurosurgical procedures.
- Meta-analytic techniques using odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were employed.
Main Results:
- Perioperative GDT significantly reduced the overall complication rate (OR 0.60; 95% CI 0.49-0.72).
- Significant reductions in complications were observed in major abdominal surgery (OR 0.72), orthopedic surgery (OR 0.53), and neurosurgical procedures (OR 0.40).
- Fluid and inotrope strategies within GDT showed significant benefits; no significant difference in total fluid volume between GDT and control groups.
Conclusions:
- GDT is effective in reducing postoperative complication rates across major abdominal, orthopedic, and neurosurgical procedures.
- The findings support the broader application of GDT beyond high-risk patients and major abdominal surgery.
- Further well-designed RCTs are recommended to explore GDT's effects in a wider range of surgical contexts.
Background:
Goal-directed therapy (GDT) aims to assure tissue perfusion, by optimizing doses and timing of fluids, inotropes, and vasopressors, through monitoring of cardiac output and other basic hemodynamic parameters. Several meta-analyses confirm that GDT can reduce postoperative complications. However, all recent evidences focused on high-risk patients and on major abdominal surgery.
Objectives:
The aim of the present meta-analysis is to investigate the effect of GDT on postoperative complications (defined as number of patients with a least one postoperative complication) in different kind of surgical procedures.
Data Sources:
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on perioperative GDT in adult surgical patients were included. The primary outcome measure was complications, defined as number of patients with at least one postoperative complication. A subgroup-analysis was performed considering the kind of surgery: major abdominal (including also major vascular), only vascular, only orthopedic surgery. and so on.
Study Appraisal And Synthesis Methods:
Meta-analytic techniques (analysis software RevMan, version 5.3.5, Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford, England, UK) were used to combine studies using odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Results:
In 52 RCTs, 6325 patients were enrolled. Of these, 3162 were randomized to perioperative GDT and 3153 were randomized to control. In the overall population, 2836 patients developed at least one complication: 1278 (40%) were randomized to perioperative GDT, and 1558 (49%) were randomized to control. Pooled OR was 0.60 and 95% CI was 0.49-0.72. The sensitivity analysis confirmed the main result. The analysis enrolling major abdominal patients showed a significant result (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.59-0.87, p = 0.0007, 31 RCTs, 4203 patients), both in high- and low-risk patients. A significant effect was observed in those RCTs enrolling exclusively orthopedic procedures (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.35-0.80, p = 0.002, 7 RCTs, 650 patients. Also neurosurgical procedures seemed to benefit from GDT (OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.21-0.78, p = 0.008, 2 RCTs, 208 patients). In both major abdominal and orthopedic surgery, a strategy adopting fluids and inotropes yielded significant results. The total volume of fluid was not significantly different between the GDT and the control group.
Conclusions And Implications Of Key Findings:
The present meta-analysis, within the limits of the existing data, the clinical and statistical heterogeneity, suggests that GDT can reduce postoperative complication rate. Moreover, the beneficial effect of GDT on postoperative morbidity is significant on major abdominal, orthopedic and neurosurgical procedures. Several well-designed RCTs are needed to further explore the effect of GDT in different kind of surgeries.
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