Registries, Research, and Quality Improvement

Five Year Survival in Medicare Patients Undergoing Interventions for Peripheral Arterial Disease: a Retrospective Cohort Analysis of Linked Registry Claims Data

OBJECTIVE

To justify the up front risks of offering elective interventions for intermittent claudication (IC), patients should have reasonable life expectancy to derive durable clinical benefits. Open surgery for chronic limb threatening ischaemia (CLTI) is maximally beneficial in patients surviving ≥ 2 years. The aim was to assess long term survival after IC and CLTI interventions.

METHODS

In a retrospective cohort analysis, the Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) registry from 1 January 2010 to 31 May 2021 was queried for peripheral vascular intervention (PVI), infra-inguinal bypasses (IIB), and supra-inguinal bypasses (SIB) for IC and CLTI across 286 US centres. VQI linkage to Medicare insurance claims provided five year survival data. Multivariable analysis identified factors associated with five year mortality.

RESULTS

There were 31 457 PVIs (44.7% IC, 55.3% CLTI), 7 978 IIBs (26.9% IC, 73.1% CLTI), and 2 149 SIBs (50.1% IC, 49.9% CLTI) recorded in the VQI. Among the PVI, IIB, and SIB cohorts, average ages were 75, 73, and 72 years, respectively. Respective five year mortality after PVI for IC and CLTI was 37.2% and 71.1%; after IIB for IC and CLTI it was 37.8% and 60%; and after SIB for IC and CLTI it was 33.8% and 53.8%. On multivariable analysis, across all procedures, end stage renal disease, CLTI, congestive heart failure, anaemia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and prior amputation were independently associated with increased mortality. Pre-admission home living and pre-operative aspirin use were independently associated with decreased mortality.

CONCLUSION

Long term survival in Medicare patients undergoing interventions in VQI centres for peripheral arterial disease is poor. Two thirds of CLTI patients and over one third of IC patients were not alive at five years. Intervening for IC in patients with high mortality risk should be avoided. For CLTI patients identified with decreased survival likelihood, intervention durability may be less important than invasiveness. Pre-operative medical optimisation should always be undertaken.

Endovascular treatment of complicated versus uncomplicated acute type B aortic dissection

OBJECTIVE

The study objective was to analyze the outcomes of thoracic endovascular aortic repair performed for complicated and uncomplicated acute type B aortic dissections.

METHODS

Patients from WL Gore's Global Registry for Endovascular Aortic Treatment who underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair for acute type B aortic dissections were included, and data were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTS

Of 5014 patients enrolled in the Global Registry for Endovascular Aortic Treatment, 172 underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair for acute type B aortic dissections. Of these repairs, 102 were for complicated acute type B aortic dissections and 70 were for uncomplicated acute type B aortic dissections. There were 46 (45.1%) procedures related to aortic branch vessels versus 15 (21.4%) in complicated type B aortic dissections and uncomplicated type B aortic dissections (P = .002). The mean length of stay was 14.3 ± 10.6 days (median, 11; range, 2-75) versus 9.8 ± 7.9 days (median, 8; range, 0-42) in those with complicated type B aortic dissections versus those with uncomplicated acute type B aortic dissections (P < .001). Thirty-day mortality was not different between groups (complicated type B aortic dissections 2.9% vs uncomplicated acute type B aortic dissections 1.4%, P = .647), as well as aortic complications (8.8% vs 5.7%, P = .449). Aortic event-free survival was 62.9% ± 37.1% versus 70.6% ± 29.3% at 3 years (P = .696).

CONCLUSIONS

In the Global Registry for Endovascular Aortic Treatment, thoracic endovascular aortic repair results for complicated type B aortic dissections versus uncomplicated acute type B aortic dissections showed that 30-day mortality and perioperative complications were equally low for both. The midterm outcome was positive. These data confirm that thoracic endovascular aortic repair as the first-line strategy for treating complicated type B dissections is associated with a low risk of complications. Further studies with longer follow-up are necessary to define the role of thoracic endovascular aortic repair in uncomplicated acute type B dissections compared with medical therapy. However, in the absence of level A evidence from randomized trials, results of the uncomplicated acute type B aortic dissection patient cohort treated with thoracic endovascular aortic repair from registries are important to understand the related risk and benefit.