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The role of narrow aortic bifurcation in affecting EVAR treatment and outcomes
No full textObjectives: The narrow aortic bifurcation is considered a risk factor for endograft thrombosis after aorto-biiliac endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) for aortic or iliac aneurysm. Nowadays, no consensus on the threshold diameter for the definition of narrow aortic bifurcation is reached and other aortic bifurcation features are rarely considered. The aim of the study is to assess the EVAR outcomes using bifurcated endograft according to anatomical characteristics of aortic bifurcation. Methods: The study included patients treated with primary EVAR from 2016 to 2022. A retrospective analysis of single-center prospectively collected database was performed. Patients were classified in standard aortic bifurcation (SAB; aortic bifurcation diameter >20mm), narrow aortic bifurcation (NAB; ≤20mm and >16mm) and extremely narrow aortic bifurcation (eNAB; ≤16mm). The three groups were compared in terms of patient demographics, risk factors, procedure setting (elective or urgent/emergent), type of deployed endograft. In NAB and eNAB groups, severe calcification (SC) and length of stenotic aortic bifurcation >10mm (long-NAB) were assessed from pre-operative imaging. In SAB, NAB and eNAB groups, following outcomes were evaluated: rate of intraoperative iliac endograft stenting (unilateral or kissing stenting), primary patency (PP), freedom from endograft-related reintervention (ffER) and overall survival during follow-up. Results: The total number of deployed aorto-biiliac endografts was 365 (mean age: 76.6 years ±7.4; male 89.3%): SAB 298 (81.6%), NAB 57 (15.6%) and eNAB 10 (2.7%) cases. Female gender, COPD and active smokers were more frequent in patients with smaller aortic bifurcation diameter (p=.002, .039 and .010, respectively). In NAB and eNAB groups, SC was reported in 18/67 cases (26.9%) and long-NAB in 15/67 cases (25.4%). Patients with eNAB have more frequent SC of aortic bifurcation (60% vs NAB 21.1%, p=.018) and long-NAB (50% vs NAB 17.5%, p=.023). In SAB, sNAB and eNAB, intraoperative iliac endograft stenting was performed in 34/298 (11.4%), 9/57 (15.8%) and 5/10 (50%), respectively (p=.001). Kissing stenting was performed more frequently in groups with smaller aortic bifurcation diameter (p=.010). Mean follow-up was 30.2 months ±21.5. At 1, 3 and 5 years, PP was 98.5%, 96.6% and 95.6%, respectively. eNAB had lower rate of PP compared to NAB group (p=.030). Long-NAB had lower rate of PP (p=.035). At 1, 3 and 5 years, ffER was 96.8%, 86.7% and 76.7%, respectively, with no differences between three groups (p=.423). At 1, 3 and 5 years, survival was 92.5%, 77.6% and 58.1%, respectively, with no difference between SAB, sNAB and eNAB (p=. 673). Conclusions: Female, COPD patients and active smokers have more frequently smaller aortic bifurcation diameter. eNAB patients have more challenging anatomical characteristics compared with NAB group, requiring higher rate of intraoperative stenting, especially kissing stenting. Mid-term PP seems to be negatively influenced by aortic bifurcation ≤16mm and long-NAB
Endotension following endovascular aortic repair: systematic review and meta-analysis on occurrence rate, treatment approaches and outcomes
No full textINTRODUCTION: Endotension is still a poorly understood phenomenon in terms of occurrence rate, treatment indications and outcomes. The aim of this study was to report incidence, different treatment approaches and outcomes of patients affected by endotension after EVAR. EVIDENCE AQUISITION: A systematic review of the literature (database searched: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library) was undertaken until June 2024. Articles reporting data about occurrence rate, strategy of treatment and outcomes of patients affected by endotension, including at least five cases of endotension were included. Meta-analyses of proportions were performed using a random-effects model. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Thirteen non-randomized studies published between 2005 and 2024 were examined, with a total of 22,118 patients undergoing EVAR due to abdominal aortic aneurysm. Among them, 209 patients developed endotension during follow-up, resulting in an estimated occurrence rate of 1.6% (95% CI 0.9-2.3). Four approaches to treat endotension were reported in literature. Estimated rates were: open surgical conversion (OSC) in 37.3% (95% CI 10.5-64.0), conservative approach in 25.9% (95% CI -4.4-56.2), endovascular relining in 23.3% (95% CI 11.4-35.2) and semi-conversions in 19.5% (95% CI 4.9-34.2). The technical success (TS) in OSC, relining and semi-conversion subgroups were respectively: 93.4% (95% CI 85.7-101), 80.7% (95% CI 60.5-101) and 94.5% (95% CI 85.2-103.8). CONCLUSIONS: OSC is the most used method, achieving high TS rate. OSC and semi-conversion presented a high CS during follow-up, while relining had lower "durability" compared to surgical treatments. Data about conservative treatment are scarce but in can be considered for selected cases
Systematic review and meta-analysis of incidence, indications, and outcomes of early open conversions after EVAR for abdominal aortic aneurysms
No full textIntroduction: The purpose of this study is to report incidence, indications, and outcomes of early open conversions (EOC) after endovascular aortic repair (EVAR), defined as surgical conversion performed within 30 days from the initial EVAR. Evidence aquisition: A systematic review of the literature was performed (database searched: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library; last search April 2023). Articles reporting EOC after EVAR comprising at least five patients were included. Meta-analyses of proportions were performed using a random-effects model. Evidence synthesis: Seventeen non-randomized studies, published between 1999 and 2022, were included. A total of 35,970 patients had previously undergone EVAR, of these 438 patients underwent EOC. Estimated incidence of EOC was 1.4% (95% CI 1.1-1.4; I2=81.66%). Specifically, in the works published before 2010 the incidence was 1.8% (95% CI 1.3-2.4; I2=74.25) while for subsequent ones it was 0.9% (95% CI 0.6-1.1; I2=69.82). Weighted mean age was 74.91 years (95% CI 72.42-77.39; I2=83.11%). Estimated rate of cause determining EOC were: access issue in 27.7% of patients (95% CI 13.8-41.6; I2=88.14%), incorrect placement of the endograft in 20.1% (95% CI 10.2-30.0; I2=76,9%), problems with "delivery system" in 9.0% (95% CI 4.9-13.1; I2=0%), aorto-iliac rupture in 8.6% (95% CI 4.5-12.6; I2=0%), endoprosthesis migration in 7.9% of cases (95% CI 3.3-12.4; I2=22.96%), failure in engaging the contralateral gate in 4.8% (95% CI 1.6-8; I2=0%), "kinking" or "twisting" of endoprosthesis in 3.3% (95% CI 0.6-5.9; I2=0%), graft thrombosis in 3.2% (95% CI 0.6-5.7; I2=0%), type Ia endoleak in 2.9% (95% CI 0.4-5.4; I2=0%), type III endoleak in 2.8% (95% CI 0.3-5.3; I2=0%) and endograft infection in 2.7% (95% CI 0.3-5.2; I2=0%). Intraoperative conversion rate was 91.1% (95% CI 85.8-96.4; I2=66.01%). Early mortality rate after EOC was 14.5% (95% CI 9.1-19.9; I2=48.31%). Mean length of stay (LOS) was 11.94 days (95% CI 6.718-17.172; I2=92.34%). Conclusions: The incidence of EOC seems to decrease over time. Causes of EOC were mainly related to access problems and incorrect positioning of the endograft. Most of the EOC were performed intraoperatively carrying a high mortality rate
Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Outcome of Different Treatments for Innominate Artery Stenosis or Occlusion
No full text: The present study reported the outcomes of different treatments for innominate artery (IA) atherosclerotic stenosis or occlusion. We performed a systematic review of the literature (4 database searched; last search February 2022), including articles with ≥5 patients. We performed meta-analyses of proportions for different postoperative outcomes. Fourteen studies were included (656 patients; 396 underwent surgery, 260 endovascular procedures). IA lesions were asymptomatic in 9.6% (95% CI 4.6-14.6). Overall estimated technical success (TS) rate was 91.7% (95% CI 86.9-96.4); weighted TS rate was 86.8% (95% CI 75-98.6) in the surgical group (SG), 97.1% (95% CI 94.6-99.7) in the endovascular group (EG). Postoperative stroke in SG was 2.5% (95% CI 1-4.1) and 2.1% in EG (95% CI .3-3.8). Overall, 30-day occlusion was estimated .9% (95% CI 0-1.8) in SG and .7% (95% CI 0-1.7) in EG. Thirty-day mortality was 3.4% (95% CI .9-5.8) in SG and .7% (95% CI 0-1.7) in EG. Estimated mean follow-up after intervention was 65.5 months (95% CI 45.5-85.5) in SG and 22.4 months (95% CI 14.72-30.16) in EG. During follow-up, restenosis in SG were 2.8% (95% CI .5-5.1) and 16.6% (95% CI 5- 28.1) in EG. In conclusion, the endovascular approach seems to offer good short to mid-term outcomes, but with a higher rate of restenosis during follow-up
Influence of stent-graft fabrics on aortic stiffness after EVAR: preliminary results of a prospective cohort-study
No full textSystematic Review and Meta-analysis of Occurrence Rate, Treatments, and Outcomes of Vascular Graft and Stent Infections in the Supra-aortic Trunks
Full text linkObjective: This study aimed to systematically review and synthesise the available evidence on the management of vascular graft and stent infections in the supra-aortic trunks (SATs). Data sources: MEDLINE, Scopus, Cochrane databases, and citation searching. Review methods: All study designs (case reports and series, cohort studies, and trials) addressing treatments for post-operative infections of prosthetic vascular grafts and stents in the SAT were included. GRADE methodology was used to assess the certainty of evidence. Results: Seventy one studies were included in this systematic review. Fifty four were case reports and case series (215 patients) describing SAT infections following surgery. Among these, 11 studies with 149 patients who initially underwent carotid endarterectomy (CEA) with patch closure were included in the meta-analysis. The estimated infection rate after CEA with patch closure was 0.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.4 - 0.9%). Surgical treatment was mostly based on complete removal of the infected material and in situ arterial reconstruction (82.2%, 95% CI 71.4 - 92.9%). Post-operative complications occurred in 25.9% (95% CI 16 - 35.9%). Cranial nerve injury occurred in 12.5% (95% CI 5.7 - 19.4%), with 28.4% (95% CI 5.2 - 57.4%) of these being permanent. Re-infections during a mean follow up of 37.7 months occurred in 3.4% of patients. Seventeen studies were case reports documenting SAT infections in 21 patients following endovascular treatment. Stent explantation was performed in 18 of 21 cases. A reconstruction to restore SAT flow was performed in 11 of 18 cases. GRADE analysis determined the certainty of evidence for all outcomes to be very low. Conclusion: Vascular graft and stent infections in the SAT are uncommon. The preferred treatment was removal of the infected graft and autologous reconstruction. Alternatives included drainage, stent relining, and antibiotics. Cranial nerve injuries were common, with one third resulting in permanent damage
Acute Type B Aortic Dissection Complicated With Spinal Cord Ischemia and Paraplegia Treated With Endovascular Scissor Technique
No full textSpinal cord ischemia leading to paraplegia is a rare, life-limiting complication of acute type B aortic dissection. We report a case of spinal cord ischemia occurred in a young woman treated with endovascular scissor technique in urgent setting. The patient had an uneventful post-procedural course. After 4 months, computed tomography angiography confirmed false lumen reperfusion and major symptoms were regressed. In selected cases, this procedure is a tool to improve false lumen perfusion in type B dissections, and demonstrated to be helpful in our case of spinal cord ischaemia
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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