Impact of nutritional and inflammatory status in patients with critical limb-threatening ischemia.

BACKGROUND: A pro-inflammatory state and a poor nutritional status have been associated with severity and prognosis of patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The clinical applicability of the different pre-operative nutritional and inflammatory biomarkers in patients with critical limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) was analyzed. METHODS: A retrospective observational study was performed, that included all patients with CLTI revascularized from January 2016 to July 2019. The inflammatory state was calculated using neutrophil/lymphocyte (NLR), lymphocyte/monocyte (LMR) and platelet/lymphocyte ratios (PLR). For nutritional status, the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) was calculated. Mortality and number of major amputations at 6 months and hospital length-of stay were studied. RESULTS: 310 patients were included. Higher levels of NLR and lower levels of PNI were associated with mortality (6.61±5.6 vs. 3.98±3.27, P=0.034; 40.33±7.89 vs. 45.73±7.48, P=0.05, respectively). Lower levels of PNI and LMR (42.57±7.82 vs. 45.44±7.65, P=0.036; 2.77±1.61 vs. 3.22±1.75, P=0.013, respectively) and higher levels of NLR (6.91±7.85 vs. 3.94±2.57, P=0.023) were associated with major amputations. The mean hospital length-of-stay was higher in patients with lower levels of PNI and LMR (P=0.000 and P=0.003) and higher levels of NLR and PLR (P=0.001 and P=0.002). A PNI<42.87 predicted short-term mortality with a 66.7% of sensitivity and a 66.8% of specificity (P=0.000). CONCLUSIONS: Our experience suggests that these inflammatory and nutritional biomarkers are independent predictors of short-term mortality and major amputations. In addition, our results suggest that PNI could be used to predict the short-term mortality with high sensitivity and specificity.

TAVI: disección aórtica iatrogénica tras retirada de balón / TAVI: iatrogenic aortic dissection during balloon retrieval

No disponible

Geometric and hemodynamic analysis of fenestrated and multibranched aortic endografts.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the influence of hemodynamic force on the development of type III endoleak and branch thrombosis after complex endovascular thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair. METHODS: Patients with thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm, within surgical range, treated with a fenestrated or branched endovascular aneurysm repair from 2014 to 2018 and with 3-month control computed tomography angiography were selected. Demographic variables, aneurysm anatomy, and endograft conformation were analyzed retrospectively from a prospective registry. The hemodynamic force was calculated using the mass and momentum conservation equations. RESULTS: Twenty-eight patients were included; the mean follow-up period was 24.7 ± 19.3 months. There were 102 abdominal vessels successfully catheterized (19 celiac arteries, 29 superior mesenteric arteries, 27 right renal arteries, 26 left renal arteries, and 1 polar renal artery). The rate of type III endoleak was 11.5% (n = 12); six cases were associated with branches that received two stents (P < .001). A higher rate of endoleak was observed with wider stents (8.50 ± 1.0 mm vs 7.17 ± 1.3 mm; P = .001) but not with longer stents (P = .530). All cases of type III endoleak affected visceral arteries (eight celiac arteries and four superior mesenteric arteries). The freedom from type III endoleak at 24 months was 86%. The rate of thrombosis was 5.9% (n = 6). A higher rate of thrombosis was observed in smaller vessels (5.00 ± 1.3 mm vs 7.16 ± 1.8 mm; P = .001), with higher stent oversizing (36.87% ± 23.6% vs 5.52% ± 15.0%; P < .001), and with a higher angle of curvature (124.33 ± 86.1 degrees vs 57.71 ± 27.9 degrees; P < .001). All cases of thrombosis were related to renal arteries (two left renal arteries, two right renal arteries, and two polar renal arteries). The freedom from thrombosis at 24 months was 92%. The area under the curve for the angle of curvature was 0.802 (95% confidence interval, 0.661-0.943; P = .013), and the cutoff point was established at 59.5 degrees (sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 60.4%). The receiver operating characteristic curve for the stent oversize showed an area under the curve of 0.903 (95% confidence interval, 0.821-0.984; P = .001), and the cutoff point was 14.5% (sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 77.1%). A higher hemodynamic force was associated with thrombosis (23.35 × 10-3 N ± 18.7 × 10-3 N vs 12.31 × 10-3 N ± 6.8 × 10-3 N; P = .001) but not with endoleak (P = .796). The freedom from endoleak and thrombosis at 24 months was 86% and 90%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Longer stents should be preferred to avoid type III endoleak. A higher angle of curvature leads to a higher hemodynamic force that results in a higher rate of thrombosis. Accordingly, we recommend maintaining the angle of curvature under 59.9 degrees. Small vessels and excessive stent oversizing entail a higher risk of thrombosis; as such, we advise a maximum stent oversize of 14.5%. Renal arteries are more susceptible to thrombosis, whereas visceral arteries are more prone to endoleak.

Nueva escala de predicción de mortalidad en los aneurismas de aorta abdominal rotos / New scale for predicting mortality in ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms

INTRODUCCIÓN: Conocer la utilidad de las escalas de riesgo de mortalidad para el tratamiento endovascular de los pacientes con aneurisma de aorta abdominal roto. Diseñar una escala de riesgo específica. MÉTODOS: Estudio retrospectivo de 61 pacientes intervenidos mediante reparación endovascular de aneurisma de aorta abdominal roto entre 2009 y 2014. Se recogieron variables preoperatorias y de mortalidad intrahospitalaria, así como las escalas Hardman, GAS, Vancouver y ERAS. RESULTADOS: La mortalidad intrahospitalaria fue del 45,9%. El estudio univariante obtuvo como factores pronósticos la edad, el sexo varón, la hipertensión arterial, el hábito tabáquico, la enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica, la tensión arterial sistólica < 90 mmHg, la frecuencia cardiaca y la pérdida de conciencia. Tras la realización del análisis multivariante, la variables significativas fueron la edad (p = 0,021), la presión arterial sistólica (p = 0,004) y la frecuencia cardiaca (p = 0,050). Las escalas GAS (76,79 ± 9,88 vs. 90,43 ± 14,76; p = 0,001), Vancouver (4,41 ± 0,62 vs. 4,83 ± 0,55; p = 0,007) y ERAS (0,06 ± 0,24 vs. 0,86 ± 0,76; p = 0,001) resultaron estadísticamente diferentes en los pacientes fallecidos. La escala resultante de la siguiente fórmula: 0,083 + 0,158 (si edad > 80 años) + 0,701 (si tensión arterial< 80 mmHg) + 0,598 (si frecuencia cardiaca< 70 lat/min) obtuvo un área bajo la curva de 0,95. CONCLUSIONES: Edad, presión sistólica y frecuencia cardiaca constituyen factores predictores de mortalidad intrahospitalaria de los pacientes con aneurisma de aorta abdominal roto tratados mediante exclusión endovascular. La aplicación de la escala propuesta en el presente estudio, en combinación con las escalas GAS, Vancouver y ERAS, permite conocer los pacientes que no se beneficiarían de tratamiento endovascular

INTRODUCTION: To determine the usefulness of mortality risk scores for the endovascular treatment of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms. METHODS: Retrospective study of 61 patients undergoing endovascular repair between 2009 and 2014. Preoperative variables and in-hospital mortality were collected. The Hardman, GAS, Vancouver and ERAS scales were calculated. RESULTS: In-hospital mortality was 45.9%. The univariate predictors obtained were age, male sex, hypertension, smoking, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg, heart rate and loss of consciousness. After completing the multivariate analysis, significant variables were age (P=.021), systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg (P = .004) and heart rate (P = .050). The GAS (76.79 ± 9.88 vs. 90.43 ± 14.76, P=.001), Vancouver (4.41 ± 0.62 vs. 4.83 ± 0.55, P =.007) and ERAS scales (0.06 ± 0.24 vs. 0.86 ± 0.76, P = .001) were statistically different between the groups. The scale resulting from the following formula: 0.083 + 0.158 (if age > 80 years) + 0.701 (if systolic blood pressure < 80 mmHg) + 0.598 (if heart rate < 70 beats/min); obtained an area under the curve of 0.95. CONCLUSIONS: Age, systolic pressure and heart rate, are predictors of hospital mortality of patients treated with endovascular repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms. Applying the scale proposed in this study, in combination with GAS, Vancouver and ERAS scales, allows the detection of patients who would not benefit from endovascular treatment

New scale for predicting mortality in ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms. / Nueva escala de predicción de mortalidad en los aneurismas de aorta abdominal rotos.

INTRODUCTION: To determine the usefulness of mortality risk scores for the endovascular treatment of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms. METHODS: Retrospective study of 61 patients undergoing endovascular repair between 2009 and 2014. Preoperative variables and in-hospital mortality were collected. The Hardman, GAS, Vancouver and ERAS scales were calculated. RESULTS: In-hospital mortality was 45.9%. The univariate predictors obtained were age, male sex, hypertension, smoking, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, systolic blood pressure <90mmHg, heart rate and loss of consciousness. After completing the multivariate analysis, significant variables were age (P=.021), systolic blood pressure <90mmHg (P=.004) and heart rate (P=.050). The GAS (76.79±9.88 vs. 90.43±14.76, P=.001), Vancouver (4.41±0.62 vs. 4.83±0.55, P=.007) and ERAS scales (0.06±0.24 vs. 0.86±0.76, P=.001) were statistically different between the groups. The scale resulting from the following formula: 0.083+0.158 (if age>80 years)+0.701 (if systolic blood pressure<80mmHg)+0.598 (if heart rate<70 beats/min); obtained an area under the curve of 0.95. CONCLUSIONS: Age, systolic pressure and heart rate, are predictors of hospital mortality of patients treated with endovascular repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms. Applying the scale proposed in this study, in combination with GAS, Vancouver and ERAS scales, allows the detection of patients who would not benefit from endovascular treatment.

Endovascular treatment of posttraumatic pseudoaneurysm of the internal mammary artery.

Pseudoaneurysm of the internal mammary artery is an unusual complication of wounds to the chest. We report a case of a 41-year-old man who sustained a stab chest wound and posttraumatic pseudoaneurysm of the internal mammary artery, resulting in hemomediastinum and hemothorax. The patient was successfully treated using emergency endovascular coil embolization. Because this injury is extremely rare, the literature is reviewed, and several principles are suggested to improve the management.

Prognostic significance of an elevated neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio in the amputation-free survival of patients with chronic critical limb ischemia.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of admission neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in predicting the amputation-free survival (AFS) of patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI) who underwent an elective infrainguinal therapeutic intervention. METHODS: All patients with CLI undergoing elective infrainguinal vascular surgery (open or endovascular) at a single university teaching hospital between January 2005 and December 2009 were retrospectively identified from a prospectively maintained database. The primary end point was AFS. The cut-off of NLR >5 was used to categorize patients into low- and high-NLR groups. Kaplan-Meier analysis and long-rank test were used to compare survival between both groups. Cox regression analysis was conducted to determine independent factors affecting the AFS. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 31 months, 561 patients with chronic CLI underwent infrainguinal revascularization. Five-year mortality was lower in the NLR <5 group (33%) than in the NLR >5 group (49%) (P ≤ 0.001), and the AFS was significantly higher in the NLR <5 group (50%) than in the NLR >5 group (26%) (P ≤ 0.001). In a multivariate analysis, preoperative NLR >5 was independently associated with 5-year AFS (hazard ratio 2.325, 95% CI 1.732-3.121). CONCLUSIONS: Elevated NLR predicts a worse AFS in patients undergoing infrainguinal vascular revascularization with chronic CLI, suggesting that the NLR conveys powerful prognostic information that is independent of other conventional clinical risk factors.

Endovascular management of radiotherapy-induced injury to brachiocephalic artery using covered stents.

Actinic vascular lesions tend to be stenotic-occlusive lesions. In this article, we present 2 exceptional cases of pseudoaneurysms caused by radionecrosis of the supra-aortic trunks. Both patients were treated by a retrograde carotid approach and deployment of a self-expanding covered stent. Proper exclusion of the pseudoaneurysm was attained in both cases; the first patient remained asymptomatic 12 months later; the second patient died of mediastinitis. Compared with conventional surgery, endovascular management is a viable, less invasive alternative in select patients, especially in life-threatening cases.

Endovascular management of splenic artery aneurysms.

Visceral aneurysms are rare clinical entities, being the most common in this group of pathology the aneurysms of the splenic artery. Its prevalence is estimated between 0.2 and 9.7%, according to different authors, however the introduction of imaging techniques to assess abdominal pathology have increased the incidental findings of these cases. Once diagnosed, treatment should be considered, when they are larger than 2 cm. in size. Conventional surgery in most cases, together with splenectomy and aneurysm resection is often required. Endovascular procedures emerge as a less aggressive and effective treatment option. Our institutional experience is presented in the treatment of 13 cases of splenic aneurysms, analyzing the profile of the patients, treatments performed and results obtained. This type of therapy and the current literature are also analysed.

Retrograde approach for endovascular salvage of an infrapopliteal vein bypass.

Endovascular treatment through femoropopliteal and infragenicular percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, both in native vessels and in bypass salvage, has been an emerging technique in recent years. However, in some cases, a difficult anterograde access in distal occlusions has limited the technical success of this procedure. Combined subintimal arterial flossing with antegrade-retrograde intervention is used as a resource technique to obtain precise recanalization in these cases. Here, we present the case of a retromalleolar access of the posterior tibial artery, based on subintimal arterial flossing with antegrade-retrograde intervention technique, to achieve femoral-posterior tibial bypass salvage.

Tratamiento endovascular de las arterias distales del miembro inferior / Endovascular treatment of distal lower limb arteries / Tratamento endovascular das artérias distais do membro inferior

La angioplastía es un procedimiento que se ha introducido en el tratamiento de las lesiones oclusivas de los miembros inferiores con resultados prometedores. No obstante, son importantes los nuevos aportes de datos sobre los resultados obtenidos, teniendo en cuenta la falta de homogeneidad de los pacientes tratados afectados por diferentes procesos obstructivos arteriales, tratados en diferentes situaciones clínicas y con una muy variada extensión de las lesiones. Se realiza un análisis de 239 casos incluidos en un estudio prospectivo con el objetivo de analizar los resultados en relación a los diversos factores que afectan a los pacientes. Se analizan los resultados y se valoran los mismos.

A angioplastia é um procedimento que foi introduzido no tratamento das lesões oclusivas dos membros inferiores com resultados prometedores. Entretanto, são importantes as novas contribuições de dados sobre os resultados obtidos, levando em consideração a falta de homogeneidade dos pacientes tratados afetados por diferentes processos obstrutivos arteriais, tratados em diferentes situações clínicas e com uma muito variada extensão das lesões. Realiza-se uma análise de 239 casos incluídos em um estudo prospectivo com o objetivo de analisar os resultados com relação aos diversos fatores que afetam os pacientes. Analisam-se os resultados e se valorizam os mesmos.

Angioplasty is a procedure that has been introduced with promising results in the treatment of occlusive lesions of the lower limbs. However, it is necessary further input of data on the results obtained taking into account the lack of homogeneity of patients suffering from obstructive arterial different processes, treated in different clinical situations and with a very wide extent of the injury. An analysis of 239 cases in a prospective study to analyze the results in relation to the various factors that affect patients. The results are analyzed and valued the same.

Endovascular therapy of ascending thoracic aorta.

We describe the endovascular treatment given to a patient who, after surgery on the ascending thoracic aorta due to acute type A dissection (Bentall's procedure), developed a pseudoaneurysm 12 cm in diameter of the ascending aorta at the brachiocephalic trunk. Firstly, an extra-anatomical carotid-carotid bypass was performed, which was followed by endovascular treatment, excluding the aortic arch from the origin of both coronary arteries to the origin of the left common carotid artery, occluding the brachiocephalic trunk. For accurate placement of the endoprosthesis, the device was released after cardiac arrest with adenosine.

Effect of the anticoagulant therapy in the incidence of post-thrombotic syndrome and recurrent thromboembolism: Comparative study of enoxaparin versus coumarin.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the effect of long-term anticoagulant treatment (enoxaparin vs coumarin) in patients with deep venous thrombosis (DVT) as to incidence of post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) and recurrent venous thromboembolism. We also analyzed the impact of thrombus regression after the anticoagulant treatment for these two outcomes. METHODS: A prospective study was designed in which 165 patients with symptomatic, unilateral, first-episode DVT were randomized to a long-term anticoagulant treatment with coumarin or enoxaparin during at least 3 months. The rate of thrombus regression was defined as the difference in Marder score after 3 months of treatment by venography. Follow-up was performed at 3, 6, and 12 months, and yearly thereafter for 5 years. Venous disease was related to pathologic severity of PTS according to the validated scale of Villalta as rated by a physician blinded to treatment. Recurrence of symptomatic venous thromboembolism was documented objectively. RESULTS: The 5-year follow-up period was completed for 100 patients (enoxaparin, 56; coumarin, 44). A lesser incidence of PTS was observed in the enoxaparin group (39.3% absent, 19.6% severe) than in the coumarin group (29.5% absent, 29.5% severe), although this difference was not statistically significant. The accumulated recurrence rate was 19.3% with enoxaparin compared with 36.6% with coumarin (P = .02). Although the mean Marder score was significantly improved in both groups (49.1% for enoxaparin vs 24.0% for coumarin; P = .016), a lower reduction in thrombus size was associated with higher clinical events of recurrence (hazard ratio = 1.97; 95% CI, 1.06-3.66; P = .032). A significant inverse correlation was also found between the degree of thrombus regression at 3 months and the incidence at 5 years of PTS (P = .007). CONCLUSIONS: Residual venous thrombosis is an important risk factor for recurrent thromboembolism and PTS. A greater reduction in thrombus size was associated with lesser clinical events of recurrence and consequently a lesser rate of PTS. However, despite a greater recanalization with enoxaparin, the incidence of PTS was similar between both treatment groups, probably because of the small sample size. Further investigations are needed to clarify the implication of the anticoagulant treatment in the severity of PTS.

Endovascular repair in the presence of aortic infection.

The purpose of this study is to describe our experience in the endovascular management of two cases of aortoenteric and aortoesophageal fistula that were unsuccessfully treated with an aortic stent graft because of recurrent infection. Although endovascular repair appears to be a promising therapeutic modality, in the presence of infection this technique should be considered on an individual basis. Failure of treatment should be expected in a significant number of cases during follow-up, particularly in patients with signs of sepsis. A review of the literature with positive and negative results has been included for a better understanding of this condition.