Introduction: The intra-aortic balloon pump is routinely used in cardiac surgery; however, its impact on outcome is still a matter of debate and several randomized trials have been published recently. We perform an updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that investigated the use of preoperative intra-aortic balloon pump in adult patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.
Methods: Potentially eligible trials were identified by searching the Medline, Embase, Scopus, ISI Web of Knowledge and The Cochrane Library.