AUTHOR=Jiang Jie , Wang Shuo , Sun Rao , Zhao Yilin , Zhou Zhiqiang , Bi Jiangjiang , Luo Ailin , Li Shiyong 

TITLE=Postoperative short-term mortality between insulin-treated and non-insulin-treated patients with diabetes after non-cardiac surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1142490

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2023.1142490

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=Background: Diabetes mellitus is an independent risk factor for postoperative complications. It has been reported that insulin-treated diabetes is associated with increased postoperative mortality compared to non-insulin-treated diabetes after cardiac surgery; however, it is unclear whether this finding is applicable to non-cardiac surgery. 
Objective: We aimed to assess the effects of insulin-treated and non-insulin-treated diabetes on short-term mortality after non-cardiac surgery. 
Methods: Our study was a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. PubMed, CENTRAL, EMBASE, and ISI Web of Science databases were searched from inception to February 22, 2021. Cohort or case-control studies that provided information on postoperative short-term mortality in insulin-treated diabetic and non-insulin-treated diabetic patients were included. We pooled the data with a random-effects model. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system was used to rate the quality of evidence. 
Results: Twenty-two cohort studies involving 208,214 participants were included. Our study suggested that insulin-treated diabetic patients was associated with a higher risk of 30-day mortality than non-insulin-treated diabetic patients (19 studies with 197704 patients, risk ratio [RR], 1.305; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.127 to 1.511; p < 0.001). The studies were rated as very low quality. The new pooled result only slightly changed after seven simulated missing studies were added using the trim-and-fill method (RR, 1.260; 95% CI, 1.076 to 1.476; p=0.004). Our results also showed no significant difference between insulin-treated diabetes and non-insulin-treated diabetes regarding in-hospital mortality (2 studies with 9032 patients, RR, 0.970; 95% CI, 0.584 to 1.611; p = 0.905).
Conclusion: Very-low-quality evidence suggests that insulin-treated diabetes was associated with increased 30-day mortality after non-cardiac surgery. However, this finding is non-definitive because of the influence of confounding factors.