Antegrade Versus Retrograde Cerebral Perfusion in Aortic Surgery: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 19365 Patients

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Authors

  • Joseph Lamelas Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Miami Miller, School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
  • Ahmed Alnajar Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Miami Miller, School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
  • Michel Pompeu B. O. Sá Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
  • Muhammad Z. Azhar Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
  • Elizabeth F. Aleong University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
  • Jef Van den Eynde Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Unit of Cardiac Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
  • Alexander Weymann Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery,West German Heart and Vascular Center Essen, University Hospital of Essen, Essen, Germany

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17140/SROJ-7-128

Keywords:

Antegrade, Retrograde, Cerebral protection, Aorta and great vessels, Minimally invasive cardiac surgery

Abstract

Background
Since the risk of neurological injury and mortality can be mitigated with the appropriate choice of established brain protection strategies, we performed a meta-analysis of studies reporting cerebral perfusion strategy outcomes. Our focus was on surgeries that can be performed through a minimally-invasive approach, to support the decision-making process of adopting surgeons.
Methods
We searched the Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE), Medical literature analysis and retrieval system online (MEDLINE), and Cochrane databases, as well as ClinicalTrials.gov, Google Scholar, and the reference lists of relevant articles for studies reporting early mortality and/or stroke outcomes of both retrograde cerebral perfusion (RCP) and antegrade cerebral perfusion (ACP) strategies. The principal summary measures were odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) and p values (statistically significant when <0.05). The pooled ORs were combined across studies that met the eligibility criteria.
Results
We identified and included seventeen eligible studies with a total of 19,365 patients undergoing ascending aorta and arch surgery from 2008-2019 by means of ACP (a total of 10,473 patients) or RCP (a total of 8,892 patients). Random effect model analyses found no increase in mortality (OR=1.03, 95%CI:0.80-1.32) or stroke (OR=1.04, 95%CI:0.81-1.32) associated RCP when compared to ACP (p>0.05).
Conclusion
In ascending aorta and arch surgery, requiring cerebral protection, ACP and RCP have similar rates of early mortality and stroke. While optimal application of cerebral protection strategies is both patient and surgeon specific, surgeons can comfortably adopt RCP in minimally invasive cases after accounting for factors that determine the outcomes of aortic surgery adequately.

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Published

2025-02-14

How to Cite

Joseph Lamelas, Ahmed Alnajar, Michel Pompeu B. O. Sá, Muhammad Z. Azhar, Elizabeth F. Aleong, Jef Van den Eynde, & Alexander Weymann. (2025). Antegrade Versus Retrograde Cerebral Perfusion in Aortic Surgery: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 19365 Patients. Surgical Research, 7(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.17140/SROJ-7-128

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