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To review the incidence of post-carotid endarterectomy (CEA) cranial nerve injury (CNI), and to evaluate the risk factors associated with increased CNI risk.

The study was a meta-analysis. Pooled rates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for CNIs after primary CEA. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated for potential risk factors. A fixed-effects model or a random effects model (Mantel–Haenszel method) was used for non-heterogeneous and heterogeneous data, respectively. Meta-regression analysis was performed to examine the influence of publication year upon CNI rate.

Twenty-six articles, published between 1970 and 2015, were included in the meta-analysis, corresponding to 20,860 CEAs. Meta-analysis revealed that the vagus nerve was the most frequently injured cranial nerve (pooled injury rate 3.99%, 95% CI 2.56–5.70), followed by the hypoglossal nerve …