The association between premorbid beta blocker exposure and mortality in sepsis—a systematic review

BACKGROUND: The effect of premorbid β-blocker exposure on clinical outcomes in patients with sepsis is not well characterized. We aimed to examine the association between premorbid β-blocker exposure and mortality in sepsis. METHODS: EMBase, MEDLINE, and Cochrane databases were searched for all studies of premorbid β-blocker and sepsis. The search was last updated on 22 June 2019. Two reviewers independently assessed, selected, and abstracted data from studies reporting chronic β-blocker use prior to sepsis and mortality. Main data extracted were premorbid β-blocker exposure, mortality, study design, and patient data. Two reviewers independently assessed the risk of bias and quality of evidence. RESULTS: In total, nine studies comprising 56,414 patients with sepsis including 6576 patients with premorbid exposure to β-blockers were eligible. For the primary outcome of mortality, two retrospective studies reported adjusted odds ratios showing a reduction in mortality with premorbid β-blocker exposure. One study showed that premorbid β-blocker exposure decreases mortality in patients with septic shock. Another study showed that continued β-blockade during sepsis is associated with decreased mortality. CONCLUSION: This systematic review suggests that β-blocker exposure prior to sepsis is associated with reduced mortality. There was insufficient data to conduct a bona fide meta-analysis. Whether the apparent reduction in mortality may be attributed to the mitigation of catecholamine excess is unclear. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO, CRD42019130558 registered June 12, 2019. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13054-019-2562-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.