Search

Background Evidence on the burden of postsurgical complications is mainly from studies in western countries, and little is highlighted in the Asia-Oceania region. This study aimed to identify and compare the burden of postsurgical complications in major cardiac surgeries in Asia-Oceania countries. Methods A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Embase, and CENTRAL between January 2000 and July 2018. Inclusion criteria were: (a) observational studies or randomized control trials; (b) studied in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and/or heart valve procedures; (c) measured postsurgical clinical outcomes; and (d) conducted in Asia-Oceania countries. Pooled effects were calculated using a random-effects model. Results Of the 6032 articles screened, 472 studies with a total of 614 161 patients met the inclusion criteria. The pooled incidences (95% confidence interval) of hospital mortality and 30-day mortality were similar at 2.38% (2.16%-2.59%) and 2.33% (2.16%-2.50%), respectively. Length of stay (LOS) was 14.07 days (13.44-14.71 days). The incidence for atrial fibrillation (AF) and stroke/cerebrovascular accident (CVA) was 17.49% (15.99%-18.99%) and 1.64% (1.51%-1.78%), respectively. Below outcomes tended to be better in studies on CABG compared to heart valve procedures, including the incidence of hospital mortality (1.97%[1.75%-2.18%] vs 3.97% [3.29%-4.65%]), AF (16.47% [14.85%-18.10%] vs 21.98% [17.41%-26.54%]), stoke/CVA (1.51% [1n 37%-1.65%] vs 2.55% [2.07%-3.04%]), and mean LOS (days) (13.08 [12.51-13.65] vs 19.58 [16.72-22.45]). Similarly, all postsurgical complications tended to be higher in studies involving high-risk patients vs non-high-risk patients. Conclusions There are opportunities to improve clinical outcomes of patients with high surgical risks and those undertaking heart valve procedures, as they tend to have poorer survival and higher risk in developing postsurgical complications.

Objective. To determine the clinical effects of Thai herbal compress.Methods. International and Thai databases were searched from inception through September 2014. Comparative clinical studies investigating herbal compress for any indications were included. Outcomes of interest included level of pain, difficulties in performing activities, and time from delivery to milk secretion. Mean changes of the outcomes from baseline were compared between herbal compress and comparators by calculating mean difference.Results. A total of 13 studies which involved 778 patients were selected from 369 articles identified. The overall effects of Thai herbal compress on reducing osteoarthritis (OA) and muscle pain were not different from those of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, knee exercise, and hot compress. However, the reduction of OA pain in the herbal compress group tended to be higher than that of any comparators (weighted mean difference 0.419; 95% CI −0.004, 0.842) with moderate heterogeneity (I2= 58.3%,P=0.048). When compared with usual care, herbal compress provided significantly less time from delivery to milk secretion in postpartum mothers (mean difference −394.425 minutes; 95% CI −620.084, −168.766).Conclusion. Thai herbal compress may be considered as an alternative for osteoarthritis and muscle pain and could also be used as a treatment of choice to induce lactation.