Meta-Analysis of On-Pump and Off-Pump Coronary Arterial Revascularization
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09.03.2009, 15:29
Background. There is no agreement whether off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) can reduce mortality, rates of stroke, myocardial infarction, or revascularization when compared with conventional coronary artery bypass (CCAB). We performed a meta-analysis comparing off-pump coronary artery bypass with conventional coronary artery bypass in randomized controlled trials. Methods. We comprehensively retrieved randomized controlled studies according to predetermined criteria. We performed meta-analyses for each outcome and empirically determined whether potential biases that might result from differences in study design or patient characteristics actually biased the results of a study. We also conducted sensitivity analyses and tested for publication bias.
