Postoperative bleeding outcome of fresh frozen plasma prime in pediatric cardiac surgery: A systematic review & meta-analysis

Bleeding after cardiac surgeries holds risk of mortality and morbidity in pediatrics. This systematic review aimed to evaluate postoperative blood loss and blood transfusion requirements for pediatric patients undergoing cardiac surgery with fresh frozen plasma (FFP) priming. In 2024, the search reviewed four databases on randomized trials (RCTs) examining the impact of FFP prime intervention on 24-h postoperative blood loss and transfusion requirements in pediatric cardiac surgeries. The journals were appraised using checklists, and random effects models estimated the effect size with a 95% confidence interval. Significance and study heterogeneity were indicated by -values and I . Of the screened 2070 articles, one high-quality and four moderate-quality RCTs involving 354 children were identified. No significant reduction in 24-h mean postoperative blood loss was found following FFP priming (mean difference MD: -0.78, 95% CI [-3.3 to 1.75], = .55) in general pediatric cardiac surgeries. However, subgroup analysis showed significant decrease in blood loss for younger children (