The influence of acute glycemic variability (GV) on early outcomes of patients
after cardiac surgery remains not fully determined. We performed a systematic
review and meta-analysis to evaluate the association between acute GV and
in-hospital outcomes of patients after cardiac surgery. Relevant observational
studies were obtained by search of electronic databases including Medline,
Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. A randomized-effects model was
selected to pool the data by incorporating the influence of potential
heterogeneity. Nine cohort studies involving 16 411 patients after cardiac
surgery were included in this meta-analysis. Pooled results showed that a high
acute GV was associated with an increased risk of major adverse events (MAE)
during hospitalization for patients after cardiac surgery [odds ratio [OR]:
1.29, 95% CI: 1.15 to 1.45, p<0.001, I22=38%].
Sensitivity analysis limited to studies of on-pump surgery and GV evaluated by
coefficient of variation of blood glucose showed similar results. Subgroup
analysis suggested that a high acute GV was related to an increased incidence of
MAE in patients after coronary artery bypass graft, but not for those after
isolated valvular surgery (p=0.04), and the association was weakened
after adjustment of glycosylated hemoglobin (p=0.01). Moreover, a high
acute GV was also related to an increased risk of in-hospital mortality (OR:
1.55, 95% CI: 1.15 to 2.09, p=0.004; I22=0%). A
high acute GV may be associated with poor in-hospital outcomes in patients after
cardiac surgery.