Autologous bone marrow stem cell transplantation for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting: a meta-analysis of 22 randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND: Although the safety and feasibility of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and bone marrow stem cell (BMSC) transplantation have been established, the effectiveness of this approach compared with CABG alone remains controversial. The aim of this updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was to evaluate the efficacy of this procedure. METHODS: A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted using studies sourced from the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane literature databases to compare patients who received isolated CABG (CABG group) and BMSC transplantation with CABG (BMSC group). 22 studies were included. RESULTS: A total of 22 relevant publications with 820 patients were included. 432 patients received BMSC transplantation with CABG and 388 patients received isolated CABG. Compared with the CABG group, the BMSC transplantation group exhibited an improvement in the left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (mean difference (MD) = 3.87%; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.93–5.80%; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The present evidence suggests that autologous BMSC transplantation for patients undergoing CABG appears to be associated with an improvement in LV function compared with CABG alone. However, heterogeneity in the data suggests that patients respond differently to this therapy. Further research is needed to understand these differences. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13019-022-01838-2.