Abstract
Aim
To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that examined the efficacy of prophylactic desmopressin versus placebo among patients undergoing functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS).
Methods
The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were screened from inception until 18-March-2022. The included studies were evaluated for risk of bias. The efficacy endpoints were summarized as risk ratio (RR) or mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence interval (CI).
Results
Five RCTs comprising 380 patients (desmopressin=191 patients and placebo=189 patients) were included. Collectively, the included RCTs had an overall low risk of bias. The pooled results showed that the mean intraoperative blood loss (n=5 RCTs, MD=–37.97 ml, 95% CI [–56.97, –18.96], p<0.001), 5-point Boezaart scores (n=2 RCTs, MD=–0.97, 95 CI [–1.21, –0.74], p<0.001), and 10-point Boezaart scores (n=2 RCTs, MD= –3.00, 95% CI [-3.61, -2.40], p<0.001) were significantly reduced in favor of the desmopressin group compared with the placebo group. Operation time did not significantly differ between both groups (n=5 RCTs, MD=–3.73 min, 95% CI [–14.65, 7.18], p=0.50). No patient in both groups developed symptomatic hyponatremia (n=3 RCTs, 194 patients) or thromboembolic events (n=2 RCTs, 150 patients)
Conclusion
Among patients undergoing FESS, prophylactic administration of desmopressin does not correlate with significant clinical benefits. Data on safety is limited. Future research may explore the synergistic antihemorrhagic efficacy and safety of tranexamic acid (TXA) plus desmopressin versus TXA alone among patients undergoing FESS.
