Comparison of transverse versus longitudinal skin incisions for femoral endarterectomy and patchplasty.

INTRODUCTION: Access to the femoral artery for a femoral endarterectomy and patchplasty (CFE) can be undertaken either through transverse (TI) or longitudinal incision (LI). LIs have been shown in previous studies to have higher groin complications though these were undertaken in multiple types of vascular procedures. We looked at wound complications for patients undergoing elective CFE procedures only with or without angioplasty via TI or LI. METHODS: All patients who had undergone CFE were retrospectively analysed from a prospective database. Length of stay, wound complications and readmission rates were recorded. Factors for wound complication were looked at using logistic regression with backward elimination. RESULTS: 122 CFE procedures were performed (30 TI) over the study period. 92 (76.7%) of patients had a prosthetic patch used, whilst 57 (46.7%) patients underwent an adjunctive endovascular procedure, namely, iliac angioplasty and stenting. Median length of stay was 3 days for both groups. The wound complication rate was 6.7% in the TI group and 22.6% in the LI group. 85.6% of the wound complications were identified after discharge. 6/122 (4.9%) were readmitted for intravenous antibiotics, whilst others were managed in the outpatient setting. TI (aOR = 0.15; 95% 0.03-0.75) and combined open FE with endovascular revascularisation (aOR = 0.33; 95% 0.11-0.95) had protective effects on wound complications. Type of the patch used was not associated with any wound complications (p = 0.07). CONCLUSION: Compared to traditional LI, TI for CFE and OTA have lower risk of wound complications and reduced readmission rates in our series. We advocate adopting TI as the standard for femoral artery procedures rather than LI.

Impact of the herpes zoster vaccination programme on hospitalised and general practice consulted herpes zoster in the 5 years after its introduction in England: a population-based study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of herpes zoster vaccination in the 5 years after introduction for 70- to 79-year-olds in England in September 2013. DESIGN: Population based ecological impact assessment. SETTING: Hospitals covering the whole English population for the period 2008 to 2018 and 293 general practices (GP) for the period 2005 to 2018, in England. PARTICIPANTS: Over the period the population contributed 117·5 million person-years for hospitalisation events and 6.96 million person-years for GP events in individuals aged 60 to 89. INTERVENTIONS: Live attenuated herpes zoster vaccination (Zostavax), first used on 1st September 2013, in 70- and 79-year-olds with continued use in new 70 year-olds and with a staged catch-up of those aged 71 to 78 years in 2013. OUTCOME MEASURES: Herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) consultation and hospitalisation rates in age-cohorts according to vaccine eligibility. Incidence rate ratios in age-cohorts eligible for vaccination compared with those non-eligible were calculated by Poisson regression. This was used to estimate prevented cases and, along with vaccine coverage, to estimate vaccine effectiveness. RESULTS: Large and prolonged reductions in herpes zoster and PHN consultations and hospitalisations were observed in the 5 years post-implementation. For example, in 79 year-olds first eligible in 2013, the incidence rate ratio for consultations 5 years later was 0·65 (95% CI: 0·52 to 0·81). Over the whole period an estimated 40 500 fewer zoster consultations and 1840 fewer zoster hospitalisations occurred because of the vaccination programme. These reductions were consistent with effectiveness in the routine cohorts (vaccinated aged 70) of between 37% (for hospitalised zoster) and 75% (for PHN consultations) and, in catch up cohorts (vaccinated aged 78 to 79) of between 49% (for hospitalised PHN) and 66% (for PHN consultations). CONCLUSION: Given the clear and sustained impact of herpes zoster vaccination over the 5-year period since introduction, optimising vaccination coverage is important to attain maximum benefit.