Longitudinal Assessment of Inflammatory Activity in Acute Type B Aortic Dissection with Integrated Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Outcomes of post-implantation syndrome after endovascular repair for Stanford type B aortic dissection

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between post-implantation syndrome (PIS) and long-term prognosis in patients with Stanford type B aortic dissection (TBAD) undergoing thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR).

METHODS

This retrospective study included 547 consecutive patients diagnosed with TBAD who underwent TEVAR at our institution between January 2014 and December 2019. Patients were categorized into two groups: the PIS group (patients with post-TEVAR PIS) and the non-PIS group (patients without post-TEVAR PIS). In-hospital and follow-up data were analyzed.

RESULTS

The incidence of PIS was 28.9% (158/547 patients). No baseline differences were observed between the PIS (n = 158) and the non-PIS (n = 389) groups. The proportion of emergency surgery in the PIS group was higher than that in the non-PIS group (44.9% vs 26.0%; P < .001), the operation time was longer (median, 65.0; interquartile range [IQR], 56.0-75.0 minutes vs 56.0; IQR, 45.0-66.0 minutes; P < .001), the volume of contrast medium used (median, 65.0; IQR, 56.0-75.0 mL vs 56.0; IQR, 45.0-66.0 mL; P < .001), and the average number of trunk stents (1.85 ± 0.4 vs 1.34 ± 0.5 pieces; P < .001) and branch stents (0.7 ± 0.7 vs 0.2 ± 0.5 pieces; P < .001) used were more in the PIS group than in the non-PIS group. The incidence of supra-aortic branch procedures was higher in the PIS group than in the non-PIS group. There was no significant difference in device-related complications (DRCs) or 30-day mortality between the two groups (2.5% vs 4.4%; P = .442 and 1.3% vs 1.3%; P = .688, respectively). Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that emergency surgery, number of trunk stents >1, operation time >58.5 minutes, and contrast medium volume >75 mL were risk factors for PIS, and the odds ratios of emergency operation, number of trunk stents >1 piece, operation time >58.5 minutes, and contrast medium volume >75 mL were 2.526 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.530-4.173), 4.651 (95% CI, 2.838-7.624), 3.577 (95% CI, 2.201-5.815), and 7.356 (95% CI, 4.111-13.160), respectively. Follow-up was completed in 98.5% (532/540) of the patients, with a median follow-up of 67 months (IQR, 50-86 months). There was no significant difference in survival between the PIS and non-PIS groups (12.4% vs 10.3%; P = .476) during follow-up. The incidences of DRCs (7.8% vs 11.6%; P = .200) and aortic false lumen thrombosis (75.8% vs 79.2%; P = .399) were comparable between the PIS and non-PIS groups. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that PIS had no effect on long-term follow-up mortality, DRCs, entry flow, or aortic false lumen thrombosis rate.

CONCLUSIONS

PIS is relatively common after TEVAR and emergency surgery; number of trunk stents >1, operation time >58.5 minutes, and contrast medium volume >75 mL are of high predictive value for the assessment of PIS after TEVAR. However, PIS had little effect on early and late postoperative mortality or DRCs.

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair for hyperacute, acute, subacute and chronic type B aortic dissection: Meta-analysis of reconstructed time-to-event data

Since the optimal timing for thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) in the context of type B aortic dissections (TBAD) remains an open question, we performed a systematic review with meta-analysis to evaluate outcomes of TEVAR according to the phases of TBAD - hyperacute, acute, subacute and chronic. We carried out a pooled meta-analysis of time-to-event data extracted from studies published by June 2023 for the following outcomes: all-cause mortality, aortic-related mortality, and late aortic reinterventions. Thirteen studies met our eligibility criteria, comprising 4,793 patients (10.3 % hyperacute, 51.9 % acute, 25.9 % subacute, 11.9 % chronic). Considering the overall population, we observed a statistically significant difference between the groups (Log-rank test, P < 0.0001) and the main differences were found in the following comparisons: hyperacute versus acute (HR 1.61; 95 %CI 1.21-2.13; P = 0.001); hyperacute versus chronic (HR 1.70; 95 %CI 1.17-2.46; P = 0.005); subacute versus acute (HR 0.78; 95 %CI 0.63-0.98; P = 0.032). Considering the population with uncomplicated TBAD, we also observed a statistically significant difference for all-cause death between the groups (Log-rank test, P < 0.0001) and the main differences were found in the comparisons for subacute versus acute (HR 0.72; 95 %CI 0.58-0.88; P = 0.002). Furthermore, we observed statistically significant differences between the groups for aortic-related death (Log-rank test, P < 0.0001) and late aortic reintervention (Log-rank test, P < 0.0001), all favoring mostly the subacute phase as the optimal timing for TEVAR. In conclusion, there seems to be a timing-specific difference in the outcomes of TEVAR for TBAD pointing to the subacute phase as the optimal timing to achieve better long-term outcomes.