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Is local anaesthesia a favourable approach for transcatheter aortic valve implantation? A systematic review and meta-analysis comparing local and general anaesthesia
  1. Constanze Ehret1,
  2. Rolf Rossaint1,
  3. Ann Christina Foldenauer2,
  4. Christian Stoppe1,
  5. Ana Stevanovic1,
  6. Katharina Dohms1,
  7. Marc Hein1,
  8. Gereon Schälte1
  1. 1 Department of Anaesthesiology, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany
  2. 2 Department of Medical Statistics, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany
  1. Correspondence to Dr Gereon Schälte; gschaelte{at}ukaachen.de

Abstract

Objectives We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify the potential favourable effects of local anaesthesia plus sedation (LAS) compared with general anaesthesia (GA) in transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

Methods Electronic databases (PubMed/Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) and the reference lists of eligible publications were screened for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies published between 1 January 2006 and 26 June 2016 that compare LAS to GA in an adult study population undergoing TAVI. We conducted study quality assessments using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and structured the review according to PRISMA. A meta-analysis calculating the pooled risk ratios (RRs) and mean differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) under the assumption of a random-effects model was performed. Statistical heterogeneity was evaluated using the I² statistic and Cochran’s Q-test.

Results After database screening, one RCT and 19 observational studies were included in the review. We found no differences between LAS and GA in terms of 30-day mortality, in-hospital mortality and other endpoints that addressed safety and complication rates. LAS was associated with a shorter ICU and hospital stay and with lower rates of catecholamine administration and red blood cell transfusion. New pacemaker implantations occurred more frequently under LAS. The overall conversion rate from LAS to GA was 6.2%.

Conclusion For TAVI, both LAS and GA are feasible and safe. LAS may have some benefits such as increased haemodynamic stability and shorter hospital and ICU stays, but it does not impact 30-day mortality. Since there is a paucity of randomised trial data and the findings are mainly based on observational study data, this review should be considered as a hypothesis-generating article for subsequent RCTs that are required to confirm the potential favourable effects we detected for LAS.

Registration number CRD42016048398 (PROSPERO).

  • anaesthetics
  • adult anaesthesia
  • anaesthesia in cardiology
  • adult cardiology
  • valvular heart disease
  • cardiology

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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Footnotes

  • Contributors GS and CE led the study design and conceived the review. CE and GS conducted the literature search and assessed publications for eligibility. CE extracted the data. Study quality assessment and data analysis were conducted by CE and GS. AS assisted with data collection and analysis. ACF revised the manuscript in terms of statistical methods, analysis and structure. GS, RR, MH, KD and CS provided clinical input and assisted with the discussion of the results. CE wrote the manuscript. All the authors reviewed and revised the manuscript and approved the final version.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

  • Data sharing statement No additional data are available.