Meta-analysis of the effects of anterograde and retrograde cerebral perfusion in aortic arch surgery

Objective To explore the differences in brain protection between anterograde cerebral perfusion(ACP) and retrograde cerebral perfusion(RCP) in aortic arch surgery. Methods Aortic arch circulatory surgery, ACP and RCP techniques were searched at the Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, Wanfang Database and the Chinese Biomedical Database from January 2013 to December 2018. Cohort studies were then performed with early postoperative death, transient neurological dysfunction(TND), stroke, and transient ischemic attack(TIA). For each study, data on endpoints in the ACP and RCP groups were used to generate risk ratios(RR) and 95% confidence intervals(CI). The funnel chart was used to test publication bias. Results A total of 6 692 patients were enrolled in 12 studies, of which 3 902 patients received low-temperature circulatory arrest plus ACP, and 2 790 patients received low-temperature circulatory arrest plus RCP. Summary analysis showed that the early postoperative death(RR=0.83, 95%CI=0.51-1.35, P=0.46), stroke(RR=1.09, 95%CI=0.91-1.31, P=0.33), transient neurological dysfunction(RR=0.81, 95%CI=0.17-3.91, P=0.80) and transient ischemic attack(RR=1.00, 95%CI=0.74-1.34, P=1.00) in both groups were no significant differences(all P>0.05). Conclusion There are no significant differences in postoperative mortality and neurological dysfunction between antegrade cerebral perfusion and retrograde cerebral perfusion in the aortic arch surgery. Combined with hypothermic circulatory arrest, it can be selected according to the actual situation of aortic arch surgery. Key words: Aortic arch surgery Antegrade cerebral perfusion Retrograde cerebral perfusion Brain protection