Pre-operative stress testing in the evaluation of patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract

BackgroundPre-operative stress testing is widely used to evaluate patients for non-cardiac surgeries. However, its value in predicting peri-operative mortality is uncertain. The objective of this study is to assess the type and quality of available evidence in a comprehensive and statistically rigorous evaluation regarding the effectiveness of pre-operative stress testing in reducing 30-day post -operative mortality following non -cardiac surgery.MethodsThe databases of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases (from inception to January 27, 2016) were searched for all studies in English. We included studies with pre-operative stress testing prior to 10 different non-cardiac surgery among adults and excluded studies with sample sizeResultsFrom 1807 abstracts, 79 studies were eligible (297,534 patients): 40 had information on 30-day mortality, of which 6 studies compared stress test versus no stress test. The risk of 30-day mortality was not significant in the comparison of stress testing versus none (RR: 0.79, 95% CI = 0.35-1.80) along with weak evidence for heterogeneity. For the studies that evaluated stress testing without a comparison group, the pooled rates are 1.98% (95% CI = 1.25-2.85) with a high heterogeneity. There was evidence of potential publication bias and small study effects.ConclusionsDespite substantial interest and research over the past 40 years to predict 30-day mortality risk among patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery, the current body of evidence is insufficient to derive a definitive conclusion as to whether stress testing leads to reduced peri-operative mortality.