Vertebral Osteophyte as Possible Etiology of Aortoenteric Fistula.

Aortoenteric fistula (AEF) and aortoenteric erosion (AEE) are deadly and difficult to diagnose. We present here a case report of a patient with a delayed diagnosis of AEF whose preoperative imaging revealed a large vertebral osteophyte which likely directed the aortic impulse into the duodenum. We believe this is the first report documenting an anatomical explanation for AEF/AEE and conclude that the presence of vertebral osteophytes should be considered a risk factor when assessing preoperative likelihood of AEF/AEE.

Endovascular treatment of renal artery aneurysm secondary to fibromuscular dysplasia: a case report.

We present a case where a saccular aneurysm of the left renal artery in a patient with fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) was successfully treated by an endovascular approach utilizing two covered 6 x 22 mm stent grafts. Aneurysm formation is a known complication of FMD. There are multiple treatment options for dealing with these aneurysms, both open and endovascular. This case report describes management of a left renal artery aneurysm with covered stents.

Regionalization of abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: evidence of a shift to high-volume centers in the endovascular era.

INTRODUCTION: Since the early 1990s, many studies have shown lower mortality for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair at high-volume centers compared with low-volume centers. The introduction of endovascular AAA repair (EVAR) also has changed the practice of AAA repair. The goal of this study was to determine if regionalization of AAA repair occurred in the United States. Etiologic factors were examined in addition to any reduction in operative mortality rates. METHODS: Patient discharges of nonruptured AAA repair were identified from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample between 1998 and 2004. Hospitals were stratified by yearly AAA surgical volume of low (< or =17 cases), medium (18 to 50), and high (>50). RESULTS: A total of 46,901 patients underwent AAA repair (72.7% open vs 27.3% endovascular). The percentage of AAA repairs performed at both low-volume (36.2% to 24.3%) and medium-volume (51.0% to 44.8%) centers fell; whereas, the percentage performed at high-volume centers nearly tripled (12.9% vs 30.9%). In 1998 there were 10 high-volume centers; by 2004 this had increased to 26. The number of low-volume centers decreased, from 412 to 328. EVAR was more rapidly adopted by high-volume centers compared with low-volume centers. By 2004, 64.3% of AAA repairs at high-volume centers were done with endovascular techniques compared with 31.8% in low-volume centers. A concurrent reduction occurred in patient mortality, from 4.4% in 1998 to 2.5% in 2004 (P < .0001). CONCLUSION: Between 1998 and 2004, a trend towards the regionalization of AAA repair to high-volume centers occurred. Nearly one-third of all AAA repairs were performed at high-volume centers. There was a concurrent increase in the frequency of endovascular AAA repair, especially at high-volume centers. During this period of regionalization of AAA repair to high-volume centers, patient mortality after AAA repair decreased by 23%. Thus, the observed regionalization of AAA repair and the reduction in short-term patient mortality for this operation may be explained by increased utilization of endovascular technologies at high-volume centers.

Carotid endarterectomy was performed with lower stroke and death rates than carotid artery stenting in the United States in 2003 and 2004.

OBJECTIVE: Although carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is the gold standard for the treatment of carotid artery stenosis, the recent United States Food and Drug Administration approval of carotid artery stenting (CAS) may have led to its widespread use outside of clinical trials and registries. This study compared in-hospital postoperative stroke and mortality rates after CAS and CEA at the national level. METHODS: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) was queried to identify all patient-discharges that occurred for revascularization of carotid artery stenosis. The International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification procedure codes for CEA (38.12), CAS (00.63), and insertion of noncoronary stents (39.50, 39.90) were used in conjunction with the diagnostic codes for carotid artery stenosis, with (433.11) and without (433.10) stroke. Primary outcome measures included in-hospital postoperative stroke and death rates. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed to evaluate independent predictors of postoperative stroke and mortality. Adjustment was made for age, sex, medical comorbidities, admission diagnosis, procedure type, year, and hospital type. RESULTS: During the calendar years 2003 and 2004, an estimated 259,080 carotid revascularization procedures were performed in the United States. CAS had a higher rate of in-hospital postoperative stroke (2.1% vs 0.88%, P < .0001) and higher postoperative mortality (1.3% vs 0.39%) than CEA. For asymptomatic patients (92%), the postoperative stroke rate was significantly higher for CAS than CEA (1.8% vs 0.86%, P < .0001), but the mortality rate was similar (0.44% vs 0.36%, P = .36). For symptomatic patients (8%), the rates for postoperative stroke (4.2% vs 1.1%, P < .0001) and mortality (7.5% vs 1.0%, P < .0001) were significantly higher after CAS. By multivariate regression, CAS was independently predictive of postoperative stroke (odds ratio [OR], 2.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.91 to 3.25). CAS was also associated with in-hospital postoperative mortality for asymptomatic (OR, 2.37; 95% CI, 1.46 to 3.84) and symptomatic (OR, 2.64; 95% CI, 1.89 to 3.69) patients. CONCLUSIONS: As determined from a large representative national sample including the years 2003 and 2004, the in-hospital stroke rate after CAS for asymptomatic patients was twofold higher than after CEA. For symptomatic patients, the respective in-hospital stroke and mortality rates were fourfold and sevenfold higher. These unexpected results indicate that further randomized controlled trials with homogenous symptomatic and asymptomatic patient groups should be performed.

Resource utilization and outcomes: effect of transfer on patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms.

We evaluated the transfer of patients with the diagnosis of a ruptured AAA (rAAA) from community centers to a tertiary care center. Our purpose was to identify factors associated with mortality and outcomes following the open repair of rAAA and to evaluate the differences between transferred and nontransferred patients. All patients who underwent repair of rAAA at our institution between 1995 and 2002 were retrospectively reviewed. Univariate and multivariate analysis was performed to identify patient specific factors on presentation and intraoperatively. Fifty-two patients underwent repair of rAAA, 20 patients were transferred to our institution. The overall mortality rate was 67%. The mortality rates for nontransferred and transferred groups were 69% and 65%, respectively. The incidence of mortality within 24 hr of surgery was significantly higher in the patients who were not transferred, 10 vs. 41% (p < 0.05). Patient-specific factors assessed for impact on survival by logistic regression included decreased body temperature on arrival to our institution (p = 0.02) and free rupture (p = 0.05). Of intraoperative factors tested, low systolic blood pressure was significantly associated with mortality (p = 0.05). No difference in total length of stay was noted. Transfer patients' length of stay in the intensive care unit was significantly greater than that of nontransferred patients (18.8 +/- vs. 7.3 +/- days, p < 0.05). The difference in ICU cost was dollar 36,000 among groups. We found the acceptance of transfer patients from community centers with rAAA did not adversely affect patient survival. Transferred patients had an over twofold increases in ICU days used. The identification of hypothermia was the single independent factor associated with poor survival and may be a marker for transfer selection. Given reduced reimbursements and increased utilization, tertiary care centers will need to consider the economic ramifications of accepting transfer patients with rAAA.

Factors impacting functional health and resource utilization following abdominal aortic aneurysm repair by open and endovascular techniques.

We assessed the impact on patient outcomes of comorbidities and type of aneurysm repair, open vs. endovascular aortic repair (EVAR). Functional health status was measured prospectively using the Short Form 36 (SF-36) Health Survey. Length of stay (LOS) and need for postdischarge resources (nursing and rehabilitation) were compared between groups. We reviewed the records of 218 patients (126 open, 92 EVAR) who underwent intervention between 1998 and 2003. The SF-36 was completed preoperatively and at intervals ranging from 2 weeks to 1 year after intervention. To identify factors impacting outcome, univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Overall mortality was 1.9%: 3.2% for open repair and 0% for EVAR (p = 0.13). Physical and mental health were higher during the 3 months following EVAR compared with open repair: physical function (PF) (65.2 +/- 4.1 vs. 54.0 +/- 4.1), vitality (VT) (55.5 +/- 2.5 vs. 44.9 +/- 3.4), and emotional role (ER) (74.9 +/- 5.0 vs. 51.4 +/- 6.7) (analysis of variance p < 0.05). Women following EVAR had decreased physical summary scores (PSS) (34.8 +/- 2.5 vs. 40.4 +/- 1.1, p < 0.05) compared with men postprocedure despite no difference preoperatively. Congestive heart failure (CHF) was an independent factor that negatively impacted PF, body pain (BP), and PSS. EVAR was associated with improved VT and ER. Differences among open repair and EVAR diminished over time. LOS (in days) was greater for open vs. EVAR (9.2 +/- 0.78 vs. 2.0 +/- 0.17) and in women following both open (11.8 +/- 1.5 vs. 8.0 +/- 0.9) and EVAR (3.2 +/- 0.9 vs. 1.8 +/- 0.1) procedures (p < 0.05). Factors that adversely affected LOS were open repair, age, renal insufficiency, pulmonary disease, CHF, and female gender. Following EVAR, patients were less likely to require home care or transfer to a rehabilitation facility than after open repair (14.1 vs. 36.0%, p < 0.05). Women were significantly more likely to require postdischarge care after open repair (48.7 vs. 30.1%) and EVAR (41.7 vs. 10.0%) (p < 0.05). Logistic regression identified female gender, open repair, advanced age, and pulmonary disease as independent predictors of need for postdischarge care. Those patients undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair by open technique (compared to EVAR) had significantly impaired functional health with regard to PF, VT, and ER in the first 3 months after surgery. CHF and hypertension also significantly impaired individual functional health scores. Of significance was that female gender was associated with increased LOS and increased utilization of postdischarge nursing and rehabilitation resources following both open and endovascular surgery for AAA.

Multiple isolated aneurysms in a case of "burned out" Takayasu aortitis.

Takayasu aortitis (TA) is a chronic inflammatory disease predominantly seen in young Asian women. The disease is idiopathic and largely affects the aorta and its major branches. The basic pathologic changes in TA are fibrosis and subsequent occlusion of the large arteries. TA is classically termed "pulseless" disease, with manifestations during the occlusive stage including limb ischemia, renovascular hypertension, and heart failure. Arterial dilation and aneurysm are largely unappreciated manifestations of TA, but they occur in as many as 32% of affected patients. We report chronic "burned out" TA in a 23-year-old Hispanic woman with isolated aneurysms of the descending thoracic aorta, abdominal aorta, and common iliac arteries, without occlusive disease.

Influence of endovascular training on fellowship and general surgical training.

PURPOSE: As endovascular procedures develop, there is a risk of diminished training of residents and fellows in traditional open surgery. We evaluated the effect of our endovascular program, initiated in 1999 coincident with the Federal Drug Administration's approval of endoluminal vascular aortic grafts, on the number of endovascular procedures and open abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repairs performed in comparison to national trends. METHODS: The experience of vascular fellows and chief residents at completion of training (1996-2002) was reviewed and compared with the national mean case numbers before and after initiation of our endovascular program. RESULTS: The development of an endovascular program increased the total number of aneurysms repaired at the Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Medical School from 49 +/- 15 to 92 +/- 8 per year (P < 0.01). The number of vascular operations performed by the RWJ fellow increased from 320 +/- 48 to 553 +/- 155 per year (P < 0.05). The number of operations performed nationally by vascular fellows also increased during the same period, but did not reach statistical significance. There was no change in the number of open AAA repairs performed by the RWJ fellow or nationally. There was also no change in the average number of vascular operations completed by RWJ chief residents or nationally (160 +/- 17 versus 157 +/- 1 and 192 +/- 4 versus 189 +/- 4, respectively; P > 0.05). However, the average number of open AAA repairs performed nationally by general surgical chief residents decreased from 10 +/- 0.3 to 9 +/- 0.4 (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: An endovascular program can increase the total number of AAA repairs performed without influencing the total number of vascular operations performed by general surgical chief residents. There was a decrease in open AAA repairs performed nationally by general surgical chief residents. The advancement of endovascular therapies may decrease the number of open procedures available for trainees in both general and vascular surgery. Perhaps those that will specialize in the field of vascular surgery should have the benefit of those open procedures.