Health care costs of endovascular compared with open thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair

Age is not a sole predictor of outcomes in octogenarians undergoing complex endovascular aortic repair

OBJECTIVE

To examine the perioperative, postoperative, and long-term outcomes of fenestrated/branched endovascular aneurysm repair (F/BEVAR) in octogenarians compared with nonoctogenarians.

METHODS

A multicenter, retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Vascular Quality Improvement database, which prospectively captures information on patients who undergo vascular surgery across 1021 academic and community hospitals in North America. All patients who underwent F/BEVAR endovascular aortic repair from 2012 to 2022 were included. Patients were stratified into two groups: those aged <80 years and those aged ≥80 years at the time of the procedure. The preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative factors were compared between the two groups. The primary outcome was long-term all-cause mortality; secondary outcomes included aortic-specific mortality and aortic-specific reintervention.

RESULTS

A total of 6007 patients (aged <80 years, n = 4860; aged ≥80 years, n = 1147) who had undergone F/BEVAR procedures were included. No significant difference was found in technical success, postoperative length of stay, length of intensive care unit stay, postoperative bowel ischemia, and spinal cord ischemia. After adjustment for baseline covariates, octogenarians were more likely to suffer from a postoperative complication (odds ratio [OR]: 1.16; [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.98-1.37], P < .001) and be discharged to a rehabilitation center (OR: 1.60; [95% CI: 1.27-2.00], P < .001) or nursing home (OR: 2.23; [95% CI: 1.64-3.01], P < .001). Five-year survival was lower in octogenarians (83% vs 71%, hazard ratio [HR]: 1.70; [95% CI: 1.46-2.0], P < .0001). Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis demonstrated that age was associated with increased all-cause mortality (HR: 1.72, [95% CI: 1.39-2.12], P < .001) and aortic-specific mortality (HR: 1.92, [95% CI: 1.04-3.68], P = .038). Crawford extent II aortic disease was associated with an increase in all-cause mortality (HR 1.49; [95% CI: 1.01-2.19], P < .001), aortic-specific mortality (HR: 5.05; [95% CI: 1.35-18.9], P = .016), and aortic-specific reintervention (HR: 1.91; [95% CI: 1.24-2.93], P = .003). Functional dependence was associated with increased all-cause mortality (HR: 2.90; [95% CI: 1.87-4.51], P < .001) and aortic-specific mortality (HR: 4.93; [95% CI: 1.69-14.4], P = .004).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that octogenarians do have a mildly increased mortality rate and rate of adverse events after F/BEVAR procedures. Despite this, when adjusted for other risk factors, age is on par with other medical comorbidities and therefore should not be a strict exclusion criterion for F/BEVAR procedures, rather considered in the global context of patient's aortic anatomy, health, and functional status.

Early Financial Outcomes of Physician Modified Endograft Programs Are Dictated by Device Cost

INTRODUCTION

Physician-modified endografts (PMEGs) have been used for repair of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms (TAAAs) for 2 decades with good outcomes but limited financial data. This study compared the financial and clinical outcomes of PMEGs to the Cook Zenith-Fenestrated (ZFEN) graft and open surgical repair (OSR).

METHODS

A retrospective review of financial and clinical data was performed for all patients who underwent endovascular or OSR of juxtarenal aortic aneurysms and TAAAs from January 2018 to December 2022 at an academic medical center. Clinical presentation, demographics, operative details, and outcomes were reviewed. Financial data was obtained through the institution's finance department. The primary end point was contribution margin (CM).

RESULTS

Thirty patients met inclusion criteria, consisting of twelve PMEG, seven ZFEN, and eleven open repairs. PMEG repairs had a total CM of -$110,000 compared to $18,000 for ZFEN and $290,000 for OSR. Aortic and branch artery implants were major cost-drivers for endovascular procedures. Extent II TAAA repairs were the costliest PMEG procedure, with a total device cost of $59,000 per case. PMEG repairs had 30-d and 1-y mortality rates of 8.3% which was not significantly different from ZFEN (0.0%, P = 0.46; 0.0%, P = 0.46) or OSR (9.1%, P = 0.95; 18%, P = 0.51). Average intensive care unit and hospital stay after PMEG repairs were comparable to ZFEN and shorter than OSR.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study suggests that PMEG repairs yield a negative CM. To make these cases financially viable for hospital systems, device costs will need to be reduced or reimbursement rates increased by approximately $8800.

Efficacy and Safety of Endovascular Fenestrated and Branched Grafts Versus Open Surgery in Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair: An Updated Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Meta-regression

OBJECTIVE

To provide an updated systematic review and meta-analysis with meta-regression of efficacy and safety of fenestrated/branched endovascular repair of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms (TAAAs) compared with open repair.

BACKGROUND

Endovascular repair of TAAAs may be a promising alternative to open surgery by reducing invasiveness and expanding the eligible population, but evidence remains limited.

METHODS

We applied "Prepared Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis" guidelines to retrieve, quantitatively pool, and critically evaluate the efficacy and safety (including 30-day mortality, reintervention, spinal cord injury [SCI], and renal injury) of both approaches. Original studies were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library until April 20, 2022, excluding papers reporting <10 patients. Pooled proportions and means were determined using a random-effect model. Heterogeneity between studies was evaluated with I2 statistics.

RESULTS

Sixty-four studies met the predefined inclusion criteria. Endovascular cohort patients were older and had higher rates of comorbidities. Endovascular repair was associated with similar proportions of mortality (0.07, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.06-0.08) compared with open repair (0.09, 95% CI: 0.08-0.12; P = 0.22), higher proportions of reintervention (0.19, 95% CI: 0.13-0.26 vs 0.06, 95% CI: 0.04-0.10; P < 0.01), similar proportions of transient SCI (0.07, 95% CI: 0.05-0.09 vs 0.06, 95% CI: 0.05-0.08; P = 0.28), lower proportions of permanent SCI (0.04, 95% CI: 0.03-0.05 vs 0.06, 95% CI: 0.05-0.07; P < 0.01), and renal injury (0.08, 95% CI: 0.06-0.10 vs 0.13, 95% CI: 0.09-0.17; P = 0.02). Results were affected by high heterogeneity and potential publication bias.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite these limitations and the lack of randomized trials, this meta-analysis suggests that endovascular TAAA repair could be a safer alternative to the open approach.

Outcomes and Economic Impact of Hypogastric Artery Management During Elective Endovascular Aortic Repair for Aorto-Iliac Aneurysms

BACKGROUND

To analyze clinical outcomes and perform a macro-costing evaluation of endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) for aorto-iliac aneurysms.

METHODS

This is a retrospective, financially unsupported, physician-initiated observational cohort study. Patients with iliac artery involvement treated with EVAR between January 1st, 2014 and December 31st, 2021 were identified. Inclusion criteria were intact aneurysm, elective EVAR with at least 1 hypogastric artery (HA) treatment, use of bifurcated endograft (EG), and at least 6 months of follow-up. Primary outcomes of interest were overall survival, freedom from aneurysm-related mortality (ARM), freedom from EVAR-related reintervention, and overall EVAR(procedure)-related costs.

RESULTS

We studied 122 (9.1%) patients: 119 (97.5%) were male and 3 (2.5%) females. Median age of patients was 76 years (range, 68.75-81). Overall, 107 (87.7%) patients had both HAs preserved according to following strategy: 45 (36.9%) with flared limbs, 13 (10.6%) with bilateral branched device, and 49 (40.2%) with a combination of flared limb on 1 side and branched device on the contralateral side. Bilateral overstenting was performed in 15 (12.3%) patients. Estimated overall survival was not different between groups of EVAR (Log-rank, P = 0.561). There was only 1 (0.8%) ARM ascertained during the follow-up. Estimated freedom from EVAR-related reintervention was not different among groups (Log-rank, P = 0.464). During the follow-up, 9 (7.4%) patients developed buttock claudication (Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) grade 1, n = 4, SVS grade 2, n = 5), more frequently in HA overstenting (hazard ratio (HR): 3.6; 95% confidence intervals (CIs): 0.96-13.5, P = 0.058). When all cots were included, branched EVAR still carried the highest burden (P = 0.001) in comparison with the mixed subgroup, the overstenting subgroup, and the flared limbs subgroup.

CONCLUSIONS

Early mortality and pelvic ischemic syndromes rate were acceptably low in all techniques. Hypogastric artery preservation showed lower complication rate in comparison with HA overstenting which, however, appears to be safe an effective for option with similar overall costs for patients who are not candidates for HA preservation based on aortic anatomy.

The application of modular multifunctional left heart bypass circuit system integrated with ultrafiltration in thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair

Open thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair is a complex and challenging operation with a high incidence of serious complications, and high perioperative mortality and morbidity. Left heart bypass (LHB) is a circulatory support system used to perfuse the distal aorta during TAAA operation, and the advantages of LHB include guaranteeing distal perfusion, reducing the use of heparin, and diminishing the risk of bleeding and postoperative neurological deficits. In China, the circuit for TAAA repair is deficient, and far from the perfusion requirements. We designed a modular multifunctional LHB circuit for TAAA repair. The modular circuit consisted of cannulation pipelines, functional consumables connection pipelines, and accessory pipelines. The accessory pipelines make up lines for selective visceral perfusion and kidney perfusion, suckers and rapid infusion. The circuit can be assembled according to surgical requirements. The ultrafilter and heat exchanger are integrated into the circuit to fulfill the basic demands of LHB. The LHB circuit also has pipelines for selective visceral perfusion to the celiac artery and superior mesenteric artery and renal perfusion pipelines. Meanwhile, the reserved pipelines facilitate the quick switch from LHB to conventional cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). The reserved pipelines reduce the time of reassembling the CPB circuit. Moreover, the rapid infusion was integrated into the LHB circuit, which can rapid infusion when massive hemorrhage during the open procedures such as exposure and reconstruction of the aorta. The ultrafiltration can diminish the consequent hemodilution of hemorrhage and rapid infusion. A hemoperfusion cartridge also can be added to reduce the systemic inflammatory during operation. The circuit can meet the needs of LHB and quickly switch to conventional CPB. No oxygenator was required during LHB, which reduce the use of heparin and reduce the risk of bleeding. The heat exchanger contributes to temperature regulation; ultrafiltration, arterial filter, and rapid-infusion facilitated the blood volume management and are useful to maintain hemodynamic stability. This circuit made the assembly of the LHB circuit more easily, and more efficient, which may contribute to the TAAA repair operation performed in lower volume centers easily. 26 patients who received TAAA repair under the modular multifunctional LHB from January 2018-March 2022 were analyzed, and we achieved acceptable clinical outcomes. The in-hospital mortality and 30-day postoperative mortality were 15.4%, and the postoperative incidences of paraparesis (4%), stroke (4%), and AKI need hemodialysis (12%) were not particularly high, based on the limited patients sample size in short research period duration.

Prehabilitation for Vascular Surgery Patients: Challenges and Opportunities

Global demand for major surgery is rising as a consequence of a growing, ageing population and clinically applicable approaches to perioperative risk reduction have never been needed more. Prehabilitation aims to optimise aerobic capacity and address modifiable risk factors prior to surgery to improve postoperative outcomes. Given the inherently high-risk nature of vascular surgery and the frequently high-acuity, frail, vascular surgical population, the potential to introduce an intervention into the surgical pathway that may reduce postoperative complications cannot be overlooked. The aim of this article is to examine the current evidence base for prehabilitation in patients awaiting vascular surgery, and to summarise the potential benefits, pitfalls, and practicalities of this emerging perioperative intervention. There is a paucity of high-quality research specifically aimed at prehabilitation for patients undergoing vascular surgery, both peripheral and aortic, making it difficult to draw definitive conclusions upon which to base a change in practice. Currently, evidence is taken from small, often single-centre heterogenous studies that vary significantly from each other, meaning that the optimal exercise regimen for patients awaiting vascular surgery has yet to be defined. Establishing the impact of prehabilitation on outcomes for vascular patients is important as the effectiveness of preoperative exercise training is likely to vary between surgical interventions and patient populations. However, extrapolation from other cohorts is possible and indeed forms the basis of many current prehabilitation programmes. Given the success of prehabilitation in other surgical groups, it has potential to become an important future research target for patients awaiting vascular surgery.