Prognosis of adrenalectomy guided by computed tomography versus adrenal vein sampling in patients with primary aldosteronism: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Adrenal vein sampling (AVS) is recommended to be the gold standard for patients with unilateral subtypes of primary aldosteronism to clinical diagnosis and surgery therapy. However, it is uncertain whether AVS is better for prognosis than computed tomography (CT), which is the most widely used. Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched for articles with no start date restriction. The last search was conducted on Jun 15, 2021. Eligible studies compared the distinct subtypes of primary aldosteronism by AVS with CT (as a control group) and reported the prognosis at follow‐up. Evaluation of cohort studies referred to Newcastle ‐ Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale, and randomized controlled trials referred to Updated Cochrane Collaboration tool. A random‐effect model or fixed‐effect model was chosen according to the heterogeneity test. All processes were performed following the PRISMA 2020 statement. Eleven studies were identified, including 1325 patients based on AVS and 907 patients based on CT. Compared with patients guided by CT, patients who underwent AVS had an increased possibility of complete biochemical success (odds ratio [OR] 2.78, 95% CI 1.88–4.12) and a decreased chance of absent biochemical success (OR 0.23, 95% CI 0.13–0.40) at follow‐up. Nevertheless, the rate of complete clinical success (OR 1.09, 95% CI 0.89–1.35) and absent clinical success (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.68–1.33) had no significant difference. Therefore, distinguishing subtypes by AVS for early treatment may be crucial since it can promote biochemical improvement.