• Derrick Y Tam, Rashmi Nedadur, Monica Yu, Bobby Yanagawa, Stephen E Fremes, and Jan O Friedrich.
• Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
• Ann. Thorac. Surg. 2018 Jul 1; 106 (1): 298-304.

BackgroundTraditionally, wire cerclage has been used to reapproximate the sternum after sternotomy. Recent evidence suggests that rigid plate fixation for sternal closure may reduce the risk of sternal complications.MethodsThe Medline and Embase databases were searched from inception to February 2017 for studies that compared rigid plate fixation with wire cerclage for cardiac surgery patients undergoing sternotomy. Random effects meta-analysis compared rates of sternal complications (primary outcome, defined as deep or superficial sternal wound infection, or sternal instability), early mortality, and length of stay (secondary outcomes).ResultsThree randomized controlled trials (n = 427) and five unadjusted observational studies (n = 1,025) met inclusion criteria. There was no significant difference in sternal complications with rigid plate fixation at a median of 6 months' follow-up (incidence rate ratio 0.51, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.20 to 1.29, p = 0.15) overall, but a decrease when including only patients at high risk for sternal complications (incidence rate ratio 0.23, 95% CI: 0.06 to 0.89, p = 0.03; two observational studies). Perioperative mortality was reduced favoring rigid plate fixation (relative risk 0.40, 95% CI: 0.28 to 0.97, p = 0.04; four observational studies and one randomized controlled trial). Length of stay was similar overall (mean difference -0.77 days, 95% CI: -1.65 to +0.12, p = 0.09), but significantly reduced with rigid plate fixation in the observational studies (mean difference -1.34 days, 95% CI: -2.05 to -0.63, p = 0.0002).ConclusionsThis meta-analysis, driven by the results of unmatched observational studies, suggests that rigid plate fixation may lead to reduced sternal complications in patients at high risk for such events, improved perioperative survival, and decreased hospital length of stay. More randomized controlled trials are required to confirm the potential benefits of rigid plate fixation for primary sternotomy closure.Copyright © 2018 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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