Comparison of revascularization with conservative medical treatment in maintenance dialysis patient with coronary artery disease: a systemic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The primary cause of death among maintenance dialysis patients is coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the best treatment plan has not yet been identified. METHODS: The relevant articles were retrieved from various online databases and references from their inception to October 12, 2022. The studies that compared revascularization [percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)] with medical treatment (MT) among maintenance dialysis patients with CAD were selected. The outcomes evaluated were long-term (with a follow-up of at least 1 year) all-cause mortality, long-term cardiac mortality, and the incidence rate of bleeding events. Bleeding events are defined according to TIMI hemorrhage criteria: (1) major hemorrhage, intracranial hemorrhage or clinically visible hemorrhage (including imaging diagnosis) with decrease of hemoglobin concentration ≥5 g/dl; (2) minor hemorrhage, clinically visible bleeding (including imaging diagnosis) with a drop in hemoglobin of 3–5 g/dl; (3) minimal hemorrhage, clinically visible bleeding with hemoglobin drop <3 g/dl. In addition, revascularization strategy, CAD type, and the number of diseased vessels were considered in subgroup analyses. RESULTS: A total of eight studies with 1,685 patients were selected for this meta-analysis. The current findings suggested that revascularization was associated with low long-term all-cause mortality and long-term cardiac mortality but a similar incidence rate of bleeding events compared to MT. However, subgroup analyses indicated that PCI is linked to decreased long-term all-cause mortality compared to MT but CABG did not significantly differ from MT in terms of long-term all-cause mortality. Revascularization also showed lower long-term all-cause mortality compared to MT among patients with stable CAD, single-vessel disease, and multivessel disease but did not reduce long-term all-cause mortality among patients with ACS. CONCLUSION: Long-term all-cause mortality and long-term cardiac mortality were reduced by revascularization in comparison to MT alone in patients undergoing dialysis. Larger randomized studies are needed to confirm the conclusion of this meta-analysis.