Lumbar continuous drain of cerebrospinal fluid for patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a Meta-analysis

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of lumbar continuous drain of cerebrospinal fluid for patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Methods Systematic literature retrieval was carried out to obtain randomized controlled trials of lumbar continuous drain of cerebrospinal fluid for patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage before April 2013. Methodological quality assessment and data collection were performed by two individual reviewers. A Meta-analysis was performed by RevMan 5. 2. 3 software. Results Fifteen studies with 1298 patients were included. Meta-analysis showed lumbar continuous drain could reduce hospital mortality[RR = 0. 27,95% CI( 0. 17,0. 44),P 0. 000 01],cerebral vasospasm[RR =0. 25,95% CI( 0. 17,0. 37),P 0. 000 01],risk of rebleeding[RR = 0. 50,95% CI( 0. 28,0. 90),P = 0. 02]and hydrocephalus[RR = 0. 25,95% CI( 0. 15,0. 40),P 0. 000 01]. We were not very clear for the correlation between lumbar continuous drain and short-term and long-term clinical outcome so far because the limited data. Conclusion This Meta-analysis could not provide any confirmed conclusion due to the limition of the included studies. However,lumbar continuous cerebrospinal fluid drain might be benefit for patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and reduce mortality and complications.