The Role of Tolvaptan Administration After Cardiac Surgery: A Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of tolvaptan in fluid management after cardiac surgery compared with conventional diuretic treatment.

DESIGN: Systematic review of the literature with meta-analyses.

SETTING: The Medline, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Clinicaltrials.gov, and Google Scholar databases were searched from inception to July 30, 2018.

PARTICIPANTS: The study comprised 759 patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

INTERVENTIONS: Tolvaptan administration (n = 397) or standard diuretic therapy (n = 398).

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Ten studies were included in the present meta-analysis. Tolvaptan administration was associated with a significantly faster return to preoperative body weight (mean difference [MD)] -1.48 d, 95% confidence interval [CI] -1.92 to 1.03), shorter duration of hospital stay (MD -2.58 d, 95% CI -5.09 to -0.07), lower incidence of acute kidney injury (odds ratio 0.34, 95% CI 0.16-0.69), and greater urine output (MD 0.47 L/d, 95% CI 0.25-0.69) and sodium levels (MD 2.85 mEq/L, 95% CI 1.90-3.80). No significant differences were present regarding duration of intensive care unit stay (MD -0.09 d, 95% CI -0.33 to 0.15), arrhythmia incidence (odds ratio 0.58, 95% CI 0.33-1.02), and serum creatinine values (MD -0.08 mg/dL, 95% CI -0.20 to 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS: The outcomes of the present meta-analysis suggest the promising role of tolvaptan administration in the management of fluid retention in patients after cardiac surgery. Future large-scale clinical trials should be conducted to fully elucidate its efficacy and to assess the optimal treatment protocol to be applied in the clinical setting.