Faculty Bibliography

Objectives: This study compared outcomes in patients with and without preoperative cardiac stress testing undergoing carotid endarterectomy (CEA).
Method(s): Patients in the Vascular Quality Initiative Vascular Implant Surveillance and Interventional Outcomes Network database who underwent elective carotid revascularization between 2016 and 2019 were included. Patients were analyzed by group based upon whether they underwent cardiac stress testing within two years preceding revascularization without subsequent coronary intervention. Subset analysis was performed comparing outcomes between those with negative and positive results, defined as evidence of ischemia or myocardial infarction (MI). Outcomes of interest were periprocedural MI/stroke, 90-day readmission rates, as well as late-term mortality.
Result(s): We analyzed 14,470 patients who underwent elective CEA. Of these, 5411 (37.4%) underwent preoperative stress testing and 1231 (29.4%) were positive. Comorbidities were significantly higher among patients undergoing CEA with preoperative stress test compared to those without stress testing. For patients with positive stress test undergoing CEA, there was a significant increase in postoperative MI (1.7% vs 0.6%; P <.001) and 90-day readmission rates (19.6% vs 15.8%; P =.003), but no significant change in postoperative stroke or congestive heart failure incidence. In 3-year follow-up after CEA, those with a positive stress test were more likely to undergo coronary artery bypass graft/percutaneous coronary intervention (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.87; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.42-2.27; P <.0001) and also exhibited a 28% increase in mortality (adjusted HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.03-1.58; P =.03) in follow-up compared to those patients with a negative preoperative stress test (Figure). Conversely, those patients with a negative stress test compared to no stress test undergoing CEA experienced a 14% reduction in follow-up mortality (adjusted HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.76-0.98; P =.02) despite no difference in in-hospital MI/stroke or follow-up coronary artery bypass graft/percutaneous coronary intervention (adjusted HR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.78-1.14; P =.53).
Conclusion(s): Our study highlights that cardiac stress testing in appropriately selected patients can facilitate risk stratification and identify patients at higher risk of postoperative adverse cardiac events. Furthermore, judicious patient selection for elective CEA is warranted in patients with a positive preoperative stress test given the increased late mortality. [Formula presented]
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Objectives: Though splenic artery aneurysms (SAAs) are the most common visceral aneurysm, there is a paucity of literature on the natural history of SAAs. The objective of this study was to review the natural history of patients with SAA.
Method(s): This single-institution retrospective analysis studied all patients with SAA diagnosed by computed tomography imaging between 2015 and 2019, identified by our radiology database. Imaging, demographic, and clinical data was obtained via the electronic medical record.
Result(s): The cohort consists of 853 patients with 894 SAA; 693 were female (81.2%), with 37 (5.3%) of them of childbearing age (15-50 years). Mean age at diagnosis was 70.9 years (range, 28-100 years). Medical comorbidities included hypertension (70.2%), prior smoking (32.2%), and hypercholesterolemia (54.7%) (Table I). Imaging indications included abdominal pain (37.3%), unrelated follow-up (28.0%) and follow-up of a previously noted visceral artery aneurysm (8.6%). Mean diameter at diagnosis was 13.3 +/- 6.3 mm. Eighty-one patients (9.0%) had more than one SAA. Anatomical locations included the splenic hilum (36.0%), distal splenic artery (30.3%), mid splenic artery (23.9%), and proximal splenic artery (9.7%). Radiographically, the majority were saccular aneurysms (72.4%). Additional characteristics included calcification (88.5%) and thrombus (13.9%). Associated imaging findings included aortic atherosclerosis (58.7%), abdominal aortic aneurysms (7.0%), and additional visceral aneurysms (4.1%). One patient (a 38-year-old female) was initially diagnosed at the time of rupture of a 25-mm aneurysm; this patient underwent immediate endovascular intervention with no complications. Mean clinical follow-up among 812 patients was 4.1 +/- 4.0 years. Mean radiological follow-up among 514 patients was 3.8 +/- 6.8 years. Of these, 122 patients (23.7%) experienced growth, with mean growth of 2.5mm. Aneurysm growth rates for initial sizes <10 mm (n = 123), 10 to 19 mm (n = 353), 20 to 29 mm (n = 34), and >30 mm (n = 4) were 0.166 mm/y, 0.172 mm/y, 0.383 mm/y, and 0.246 mm/y, respectively. Of the entire cohort, 27 patients (3.2%) eventually underwent intervention (81.5% endovascular), with the most common indications including size/growth criteria (70.4%) and symptom development (18.5%). On multivariate analysis, only prior tobacco use (P =.028) was significantly associated with aneurysm growth. Data stratified by sex and childbearing age are presented in Table II.
Conclusion(s): The majority of SAAs in this cohort remained stable in size, with few patients requiring intervention over mean follow-up of 4 years. Current guidelines recommending treatment of asymptomatic aneurysms >30 mm appear appropriate given their slow progression. Despite societal recommendations for intervention for all SAAs among women of childbearing age, only a minority underwent intervention in this series, indicating that these recommendations may not be well known in the general medical community. [Formula presented] [Formula presented]
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OBJECTIVE:Renal transplant is associated with substantial survival advantage in patients with end-stage renal disease. However, little is known about the outcomes of renal transplant recipients (RTRs) after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR). This study aimed to study the effect of renal transplant on perioperative outcomes and long-term survival after elective infrarenal EVAR. METHODS:The Vascular Quality Initiative database was queried for all patients undergoing elective EVAR from 2003 to 2021. Functioning RTRs were compared with non-renal transplant recipients without a diagnosis of end-stage renal disease (non-RTRs). The outcomes included 30-day mortality, acute kidney injury (AKI), new renal failure requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT), endoleak, aortic-related reintervention, major adverse cardiac events, and 5-year survival. A logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between RTRs and perioperative outcomes. RESULTS:Of 60,522 patients undergoing elective EVAR, 180 (0.3%) were RTRs. RTRs were younger (median, 71 years vs 74.5 years; P < .001), with higher incidence of hypertension (92% vs 84%; P = .004) and diabetes (29% vs 21%; P = .005). RTRs had higher median preoperative serum creatinine (1.3 mg/dL vs 1.0 mg/dL; P < .001) and lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (51.6 mL/min vs 69.4 mL/min; P < .001). There was no difference in the abdominal aortic aneurysm diameter and incidence of concurrent iliac aneurysms. Procedurally, RTRs were more likely to undergo general anesthesia with lower amount of contrast used (median, 68.6 mL vs 94.8 ml; P < .001) and higher crystalloid infusion (median, 1700 mL vs 1500 mL; P = .039), but no difference was observed in the incidence of open conversion, endoleak, operative time, and blood loss. Postoperatively, RTRs experienced a higher rate of AKI (9.4% vs 2.7%; P < .001), but the need for new RRT was similar (1.1% vs 0.4%; P = .15). There was no difference in the rates of postoperative mortality, aortic-related reintervention, and major adverse cardiac events. After adjustment for potential confounders, RTRs remained associated with increased odds of postoperative AKI (odds ratio, 3.33; 95% confidence interval, 1.93-5.76; P < .001) but had no association with other postoperative complications. A subgroup analysis identified that diabetes (odds ratio, 4.21; 95% confidence interval, 1.17-15.14; P = .02) is associated with increased odds of postoperative AKI among RTRs. At 5 years, the overall survival rates were similar (83.4% vs 80%; log-rank P = .235). CONCLUSIONS:Among patients undergoing elective infrarenal EVAR, RTRs were independently associated with increased odds of postoperative AKI, without increased postoperative renal failure requiring RRT, mortality, endoleak, aortic-related reintervention, or major adverse cardiac events. Furthermore, 5-year survival was similar. As such, while EVAR may confer comparable benefits and technical success perioperatively, RTRs should have aggressive and maximally optimized renal protection to mitigate the risk of postoperative AKI.

BACKGROUND:Peripheral vascular interventions (PVIs) for lower extremity peripheral artery disease have been increasing, particularly in the office-based setting. Our goal was to evaluate practice patterns for PVI by site of service using a contemporary real-world dataset. METHODS:The Vascular Quality Initiative PVI registry was queried from 2010-2021. Site of service was classified as hospital/inpatient, hospital/outpatient, and ambulatory/office-based center. Patient demographics, comorbidities, procedural details, and periprocedural outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS:There were 54,897 hospital/inpatient (43.2%), 64,105 hospital/outpatient (50.4%), and 8,179 ambulatory/office-based center (6.4%) PVI. When comparing the 2 outpatient settings, ambulatory/office-based center patients were older than hospital/outpatient (mean age 70.7 vs. 68.7 years), more often female sex (41.4% vs. 39.1%), never smokers (27.5% vs. 18.5%), primary Medicare (61.6% vs. 55.9%), nonambulatory (6.5% vs. 4.7%), less often with coronary artery disease (30.2% vs. 34.1%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (18.1% vs. 26.9%), congestive heart failure (13% vs. 17.2%), obesity (30.9% vs. 33.6%), and less often on a statin (71.4% vs. 76.1%) (P < 0.001). Ambulatory/office-based center procedures were more likely for claudication (60.1% vs. 55.8%), more often involved femoro-popliteal (73.1% vs. 64.6%) and infrapopliteal (36.7% vs. 24.3%), and less often iliac interventions (24.1% vs. 33.6%) (P < 0.001).Overall, atherectomy was used in 14.2% of hospital/inpatient, 19.4% of hospital/outpatient, and 63.4% of ambulatory/office-based center procedures. Stents were used in 41.8% of hospital/inpatient, 45.1% of hospital/outpatient, and 48.8% of ambulatory/office-based center procedures. However, stent grafts were used in 12.5% of hospital/inpatient, 8.8% of hospital/outpatient, and only 1.3% of ambulatory/office-based center procedures. On multivariable analysis, compared with hospital/inpatient, atherectomy use was associated with ambulatory/office-based center setting (Odds ratio 10.9, 95% confidence interval 10.3-11.5, P < 0.001) and hospital/outpatient setting (Odds ratio 1.57, 95% confidence interval 1.51-1.62, P < 0.001). Periprocedure complications including hematoma requiring intervention (0.3%), any stenosis/occlusion (0.2%), and distal embolization (0.6%) were quite low across all settings. CONCLUSIONS:There are substantial variations in patient populations, procedural indications, and types of interventions undertaken during PVI across different locations. Ambulatory/office-based procedures more commonly treat claudicants, use atherectomy, and less often use stent grafts. Further research is warranted to investigate long-term trends in practice patterns and long-term outcomes, for PVI in the ever-expanding ambulatory/office-based setting.

Objective: Renal transplant is associated with substantial survival advantage in patients with end-stage renal disease. However, little is known about the outcomes of renal transplant recipients (RTRs) after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR). This study aimed to study the effect of renal transplant on perioperative outcomes and long-term survival after elective infrarenal EVAR.
Method(s): The Vascular Quality Initiative database was queried for all patients undergoing elective EVAR from 2003 to 2021. Functioning RTRs were compared with non-renal transplant recipients without a diagnosis of end-stage renal disease (non-RTRs). The outcomes included 30-day mortality, acute kidney injury (AKI), new renal failure requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT), endoleak, aortic-related reintervention, major adverse cardiac events, and 5-year survival. A logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between RTRs and perioperative outcomes.
Result(s): Of 60,522 patients undergoing elective EVAR, 180 (0.3%) were RTRs. RTRs were younger (median, 71 years vs 74.5 years; P <.001), with higher incidence of hypertension (92% vs 84%; P =.004) and diabetes (29% vs 21%; P =.005). RTRs had higher median preoperative serum creatinine (1.3 mg/dL vs 1.0 mg/dL; P <.001) and lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (51.6 mL/min vs 69.4 mL/min; P <.001). There was no difference in the abdominal aortic aneurysm diameter and incidence of concurrent iliac aneurysms. Procedurally, RTRs were more likely to undergo general anesthesia with lower amount of contrast used (median, 68.6 mL vs 94.8 ml; P <.001) and higher crystalloid infusion (median, 1700 mL vs 1500 mL; P =.039), but no difference was observed in the incidence of open conversion, endoleak, operative time, and blood loss. Postoperatively, RTRs experienced a higher rate of AKI (9.4% vs 2.7%; P <.001), but the need for new RRT was similar (1.1% vs 0.4%; P =.15). There was no difference in the rates of postoperative mortality, aortic-related reintervention, and major adverse cardiac events. After adjustment for potential confounders, RTRs remained associated with increased odds of postoperative AKI (odds ratio, 3.33; 95% confidence interval, 1.93-5.76; P <.001) but had no association with other postoperative complications. A subgroup analysis identified that diabetes (odds ratio, 4.21; 95% confidence interval, 1.17-15.14; P =.02) is associated with increased odds of postoperative AKI among RTRs. At 5 years, the overall survival rates were similar (83.4% vs 80%; log-rank P =.235).
Conclusion(s): Among patients undergoing elective infrarenal EVAR, RTRs were independently associated with increased odds of postoperative AKI, without increased postoperative renal failure requiring RRT, mortality, endoleak, aortic-related reintervention, or major adverse cardiac events. Furthermore, 5-year survival was similar. As such, while EVAR may confer comparable benefits and technical success perioperatively, RTRs should have aggressive and maximally optimized renal protection to mitigate the risk of postoperative AKI. Keywords: End-stage renal disease, Endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm, Multi-institutional study, Renal transplant, Renal transplant recipient, Vascular Quality Initiative database
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INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) has improved outcomes for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (rAAA) compared to open repair. We examined the impact of aorto-uni-iliac (AUI) versus standard bifurcated endograft configuration on outcomes in rAAA. METHODS:Patients 18 years or older in the VQI database who underwent EVAR for rAAA from January 2011 to April 2020 were included. Patient characteristics were analyzed by graft configuration: AUI or standard bifurcated. Primary and secondary outcomes included 30-day mortality, post-operative major adverse events (MAE; myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, mesenteric ischemia, lower extremity embolization, dialysis requirement, re-operation, pneumonia or re-intubation) and 1-year mortality. A subset propensity-score matched (PSM) cohort was also analyzed. RESULTS:We included 2717 patients: 151 had AUI and 2566 had standard bifurcated repair. There was no significant difference between groups in terms of age, major medical comorbidities, anatomic aortic neck characteristics, or rates of conversion to open repair. Patients undergoing AUI were more commonly female (30% vs. 22%, p=0.011) and had a history of CHF (19% vs. 12%, p=0.013). Perioperatively, patients undergoing AUI had a significantly higher incidence of cardiac arrest (15% vs. 7%, p<0.001), greater intra-operative blood loss (1.3L vs. 0.6L, p<0.001), longer operative duration (218min vs. 138min, p<0.0001), higher incidence of MAE (46.3% vs. 33.3%, p=0.001), as well as prolonged ICU (7 vs. 4.7 days p=0.0006) and overall hospital length of stay (11.4 vs. 8.1 days, p=0.0003). Kaplan-Meier survival analyses demonstrated significant differences in 30-day (31.1% vs. 20.2%, log-rank p=0.001) and 1-year mortality (41.7% vs. 27.7%, log-rank p=0.001). The PSM cohort demonstrated similar results. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:The AUI configuration for rAAA appears to be implemented in a sicker cohort of patients and is associated with worse perioperative and 1-year outcomes compared to a bifurcated graft configuration, which was also seen on propensity matched analysis. Standard bifurcated graft configuration may be the preferred approach in the management of rAAA unless AUI configuration is mandated by patient anatomy or other extenuating circumstances.

OBJECTIVE:The existing renal artery aneurysm (RAA) literature is largely composed of reports of patients who underwent intervention. The objective of this study was to review the natural history of RAA. METHODS:This single-institution retrospective analysis studied all patients with RAA diagnosed by computed tomography imaging between 2015 and 2019, identified by our institutional radiology database. Imaging, demographic, and clinical data were obtained via the electronic medical record. He growth rate was calculated for all patients with radiological follow-up. RESULTS:The cohort consists of 331 patients with 338 RAAs. Most patients were female (61.3%), with 11 (3.3%) of childbearing age. The mean age at diagnosis was 71.5 years (range, 24-99 years). Medical comorbidities included hypertension (73.7%), prior smoking (34.4%), and connective tissue disease (3.9%). Imaging indications included abdominal pain (33.5%), unrelated follow-up (29.6%), and follow-up of an RAA initially diagnosed before the study period (10.7%). Right RAA (61.9%) was more common than left (35.1%); 3% of patients had bilateral RAA. The mean diameter at diagnosis was 12.9 ± 5.9 mm. Size distribution included lesions measuring less than <15 mm (69.9%), 15 to 25 mm (27.1%), and more than 25 mm (3.0%). Anatomic locations included the distal RA (26.7%), renal hilum (42.4%), and mid-RA (13.1%). The majority were true aneurysms (98%); of these, 72.3% were fusiform and 27.7% were saccular. Additional characteristics included calcification (82.2%), thrombus (15.9%), and dissection (0.9%). Associated findings included aortic atherosclerosis (65.6%), additional visceral aneurysms (7.3%), and abdominal aortic aneurysm (5.7%). The mean clinical follow-up among 281 patients was 41.0 ± 24.0 months. The mean radiological follow-up among 137 patients was 26.0 ± 21.4 months. Of these, 43 patients (31.4%) experienced growth, with mean growth rate of 0.23 ± 4.7 mm/year; the remainder remained stable in size. Eight patients eventually underwent intervention (5 endovascular), with the most common indications including size criteria (4/8) and symptom development (3/8). No patient developed rupture. On multivariate analysis, obesity (P = .04) was significantly associated with growth. An initial diameter of more than 25 mm was significantly associated with subsequent intervention (P = .006), but was not significantly associated with growth. Four of five RAAs with an initial diameter 30 mm or greater did not undergo intervention. The mean clinical follow-up for these patients was 24 months; none developed rupture and two remained stable in size. CONCLUSIONS:This large institutional cohort found that the majority of RAAs remained stable in size, with few patients meeting indications for repair based on societal guidelines. Current guidelines recommending intervention for asymptomatic aneurysms more than 30 mm seem to be appropriate given their slow progression.

BACKGROUND:There is a paucity of literature on the natural history of extracranial carotid artery occlusion (CAO). This study reviews the natural history of this patient cohort. METHODS:This single-institution retrospective analysis studied patients with CAO diagnosed by duplex ultrasound between 2010 and 2021. Patients were identified by searching our office-based Intersocietal Accreditation Commission accredited vascular laboratory database. Imaging and clinical data were obtained via our institutional electronic medical record. Outcomes of interest included ipsilateral stroke, attributable neurologic symptoms, and ipsilateral intervention after diagnosis. RESULTS:The full duplex database consisted of 5,523 patients who underwent carotid artery duplex examination during the study period. The CAO cohort consisted of 139 patients; incidence of CAO was 2.5%. Mean age at diagnosis was 69.7 years; 31.4% were female. Hypertension (72.7%), hyperlipidemia (64.7%), and prior smoking (43.9%) were the most common comorbid conditions. Of the CAO cohort, 61.3% (n = 85) of patients were asymptomatic at diagnosis; 38.8% (n = 54) were diagnosed after a stroke or transient ischemic attack occurring within 6 months prior to diagnosis, with 21.6% occurring ipsilateral to the CAO and 10.1% occurring contralateral to the CAO. 7.2% (n = 10) had unclear symptoms or laterality at presentation. Of the CAO cohort, 95 patients (68.3%) had duplex imaging follow-up (mean 42.7 ± 31.3 months). Of those with follow-up studies, 7 patients (5.0%) developed subsequent stroke ipsilateral to the CAO with mean occurrence 27.8 ± 39.0 months postdiagnosis. In addition, 5 patients (3.6%) developed other related symptoms, including global hypoperfusion (2.4%) and transient ischemic attack (1.2%). Of those, 95 patients with follow-up duplex ultrasound imaging, 6 (4.3%) underwent eventual ipsilateral intervention, including carotid endarterectomy (n = 4), transfemoral carotid artery stent (n = 1), and carotid bypass (n = 1), with mean occurrence 17.7 ± 23.7 months postdiagnosis. The aggregate rate of ipsilateral cerebrovascular accident, attributable neurologic symptoms, or ipsilateral intervention was 11.5%. Of 95 patients with follow-up duplex ultrasound imaging, 5 underwent subsequent duplex studies demonstrating ipsilateral patency, resulting in a 5.3% discrepancy rate between sequential duplex studies. All 6 patients undergoing intervention received periprocedural cross-sectional imaging (magnetic resonance angiography or computed tomography angiography). In 5 of these 6 patients, cross-sectional demonstrated severe stenosis rather than CAO, disputing prior duplex ultrasound findings. CONCLUSIONS:In this large, institutional cohort of patients with a CAO diagnosis on duplex ultrasound, a clinically meaningful subset of patients experienced cerebrovascular accident, related symptoms, or intervention. We also found a notable rate of temporal duplex discrepancies among patients with CAO diagnoses and discrepancies between CAO diagnosis per duplex ultrasound and findings on cross-sectional imaging for those patients who underwent intervention. These results suggest that use of a single duplex ultrasound as a sole diagnostic tool in CAO may not be sufficient and that physicians should consider close duplex ultrasound surveillance of these patients, potentially in conjunction with additional confirmatory imaging modalities. Further investigation into optimal workup and surveillance protocols for CAO is needed.

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:The finding of concurrent deep venous reflux (DVR) when interrogating superficial venous reflux is common and might be a marker for more severe chronic venous insufficiency. However, the safety, clinical and patient reported outcomes in patients undergoing superficial venous treatment in the presence of DVR remains underreported. Moreover, factors associated with persistence and disappearance of DVR after superficial vein treatments have not been evaluated. This study sought to address these questions. METHODS:This study was a review of the institutional vascular quality initiative (VQI) database from June 2016 to June 2021. Consecutive patient-limbs were identified who underwent a superficial venous intervention and had duplex evaluation. These patients were then divided into those with and without DVR. Those with DVR were further reviewed for anatomical details and persistence or resolution of DVR following the procedure. The primary outcome was the venous clinical severity score (VCSS) at follow-up greater than 3 months. Secondary outcomes included the incidence of any postoperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or endovenous heat-induced thrombosis (EHIT), differences in patient-reported outcomes, rate of resolution of DVR, and factors associated with DVR persistence. Both univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were applied. RESULTS:In patients who underwent superficial venous treatments 644 patient-limbs had DVR and 7812 did not, for a prevalence of 7.6%. The former group was associated with a higher burden of chronic venous insufficiency. On univariate analysis, patient-limbs, both with and without DVR, improved significantly in VCSS at less than 3 months follow-up, and were not significantly different. At greater than 3 months follow-up, the VCSS score again improved significantly compared to less than 3 months follow-up, but the two groups differed significantly at the longer interval. The magnitude of improvement in VCSS between the two groups at the longer follow-up were statistically similar (3.17±3.11 vs 3.03±2.93, P =0.739). HASTI score similarly improved significantly in both groups, but remained significantly higher in the DVR group on follow-up. On multivariate logistic regression, DVR was not associated with an increased VCSS at greater than 3 months follow-up. There was no intergroup difference in postoperative DVT or EHIT. 40.8% of limbs with DVR no longer had evidence of detectable DVR at the latest follow-up venous duplex, and DVR limited to single segment were more likely to be no longer detectable versus multi-segments. CONCLUSIONS:Superficial venous procedures are safe and effective in patients with DVR, leading to improvements in clinical and patient reported outcomes as they would for those without DVR. In a large proportion of the treated limbs, especially in those with DVR in a single segment, there is no longer evidence of DVR following superficial venous intervention. Although patients with DVR have a higher burden of chronic venous insufficiency, they appear to still derive significant benefit from superficial venous treatments.

OBJECTIVE:inhibitors for CAS. METHODS:inhibitors as well as symptomatic status. Primary endpoints were perioperative neurologic events (strokes and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs)). Secondary endpoints were mortality and myocardial infarction. RESULTS:inhibitors used revealed that all appeared to be equally effective in reducing the periprocedural neurological event rate. CONCLUSIONS:inhibitors in the periprocedural period, leaving room for significant improvement.