title: Risk Factors for Sternal Complications After Cardiac Operations: A Systematic Review.
abstract: Early detection of patients at risk of sternal complications is essential to facilitate prevention and optimize timely intervention. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to identify risk factors associated with sternal complications. The review included 17 full-text studies, of which 10 were entered into meta-analyses. Female gender, diabetes mellitus, obesity, bilateral internal mammary artery grafts, reoperation for postoperative complications, and blood product requirement were reported as significant predictors of sternal infection. The compilation of these risk factors may help to screen and stratify patients at risk of impaired sternal healing and warrants further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Physiotherapy Department, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: sbalachandra@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Sulakshana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Balachandran
authors.affiliation: Physiotherapy Department, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Annemarie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Physiotherapy Department, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Denehy
authors.affiliation: Physiotherapy Department, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Kuan-Yin
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia; Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Alistair
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Royse
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia; Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Management, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Royse
authors.affiliation: Physiotherapy Department, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Doa
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: El-Ansary
mesh_terms: D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013249:Sternum