ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Epidemiologic variation with respect to sex has been established in aortic dissection. However, current literature on sex-based outcomes in patients with aortic dissection is conflicting. In this study we aimed to compare perioperative outcomes according to sex in patients treated surgically for acute type A aortic dissection. METHODS: PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science were searched for studies that reported sex-based differences in postoperative outcomes among patients with acute type A aortic dissection. The primary outcome was in-hospital/30-day mortality, and secondary outcomes included postoperative stroke, renal failure requiring dialysis, and reoperation for bleeding. Data were aggregated using the random effects model as pooled risk ratio (RR). Meta-regression was applied to identify sources of heterogeneity between studies. RESULTS: Nine of 1022 studies were included for final analysis comprising 3338 female and 5979 male participants. Compared with male sex, female sex was associated with similar in-hospital/30-day mortality (RR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.85-1.28; P = .67), postoperative stroke risk (RR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.91-1.25; P = .43), and postoperative risk of acute renal failure requiring dialysis (RR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.59-1.19; P = .32). A decreased risk of reoperation for bleeding (RR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.75-0.94; P < .01) was observed in female participants. Meta-regression analysis indicated that differences in preoperative shock were a source of heterogeneity in the sex difference in in-hospital/30-day mortality across studies. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients treated surgically for acute type A aortic dissection, female sex was not associated with increased risk of short-term mortality nor with major postoperative complications. Male sex was associated with a greater risk of postoperative bleeding.