Fundoplication to preserve allograft function after lung transplant: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

ARS has been adopted in select patients with lung transplant for the past 2 decades in many centers. Outcomes have been reported sporadically. No pooled analysis of retrospective series has been performed.

OBJECTIVE

This review and pooled analysis sought to demonstrate objective evidence of improved graft function in lung transplant patients undergoing antireflux surgery (ARS).

METHODS

In accordance with Meta-analyses of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines, a search of PubMed Central, Medline, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library databases was performed. Articles documenting spirometry data pre- and post-ARS were reviewed and a random-effects model meta-analysis was performed on forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) values and the rate of change of FEV1.

RESULTS

Six articles were included in the meta-analysis. Regarding FEV1 before and after ARS, we observed a small increase in FEV1 values in studies reporting raw values (2.02 ± 0.89 L/1 sec vs 2.14 ± 0.77 L/1 sec; n = 154) and % of predicted (77.1% ± 22.1% vs 81.2% ± 26.95%; n = 45), with a small pooled Cohen d effect size of 0.159 (P = .114). When considering the rate of change of FEV1 we observed a significant difference in pre-ARS compared with post-ARS (-2.12 ± 2.76 mL/day vs +0.05 ± 1.19 mL/day; n = 103). There was a pooled effect size of 1.702 (P = .013), a large effect of ARS on the rate of change of FEV1 values.

CONCLUSIONS

This meta-analysis of retrospective observational studies demonstrates that ARS might benefit patients with declining FEV1, by examining the rate of change of FEV1 during the pre- and postoperative periods.