Part One: For the Motion. Completion Angiography Should be Used Routinely Following Carotid Endarterectomy

[Intraoperative angiography in carotid artery reconstruction-Pathological findings, reliability and importance of the procedure]

Ziel

Der Wert der intraoperativen Angiographie und deren Ad-hoc-Beurteilung im Hinblick auf operationstechnische Unzulänglichkeiten soll geprüft werden.

Methode

Insgesamt 523 konsekutive A.-cartotis-Thrombendarteriektomie(TEA)-Patienten mit intraoperativer Kontrollangiographie, postoperativer Duplexsonographie und retrospektiver Zweitbeurteilung der Angiographie wurden in die Auswertung einbezogen.

Ergebnisse

In der retrospektiven Zweitbeurteilung der Angiographie wurden 23 (4,4%) Verschlüsse oder hochgradige Stenosen der Arteria carotis communis (ACC) oder Arteria carotis interna (ACI) im Operationsbereich (12/2,3%) bzw. in der Abstrombahn (distale extrakranielle und intrakranielle ACI, A. cerebri media [ACM]) detektiert (11/2,1%), wohingegen bei der intraoperativen Ad-hoc-Beurteilung nur 13 (2,5%) derartige Pathologien beschrieben worden waren (7/1,3% im Operationsbereich, 6/1,1% in der Abstrombahn; p=0,002). Duplexsonographisch wurden postoperativ bei 50 von 505 untersuchten Patienten (10,1%) operationstechnische Unzulänglichkeiten lokal detektiert, was signifikant mehr war als in der Angiographie (p<0,001). In den meisten Fällen handelte es sich um nicht okkludierende/nicht hochgradig stenosierende Intima-Media-Ablösungen (19), Nahteinziehungen (13) und Kinkings/Kalibersprünge am distalen Patchende (14). Nahteinziehungen und Kinkings/Kalibersprünge waren mit einer linksseitigen TEA (adjustierte OR: 2,4; 95%-KI: 1,1‑5,1), einer Operation ohne Patch (adjustierte OR: 16,6; 95%-KI: 1,3–215,0) und der Verwendung eines Dacron- vs. Polytetrafluorethylen-Patch (adjustierte OR: 3,0; 95%-KI: 1,4–6,6) assoziiert.

Schlussfolgerung

Bei der Ad-hoc-Beurteilung der intraoperativen Kontrollangiographie kann eine nicht unerhebliche Zahl auch okkludierender und hochgradig stenosierender Pathologien übersehen werden (zur Detektion nicht okkludierender und nicht hochgradig stenosierender operativer Unzulänglichkeiten methodisch nicht geeignet – Ausweich: postoperative Duplexsonographie).

Practice patterns in the use of completion imaging after carotid endarterectomy

BACKGROUND

The use of intraoperative completion imaging (completion carotid duplex ultrasound or angiography) to confirm the technical adequacy of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) remains a matter of controversy. The purpose of this study was to describe vascular surgeons' practice patterns in the use of completion imaging after CEA and to study the association between completion imaging and postoperative stroke/death and high-grade restenosis (>70%).

METHODS

Patients who underwent CEA without concomitant procedures in the Vascular Quality Initiative database between 2003 and 2018 were included. Surgeons' practice patterns were defined on the basis of the distribution of completion imaging use among annual CEA cases per surgeon. Multivariable and Cox proportional hazards models were used to study the association between different practice patterns of completion imaging and perioperative and 1-year outcomes after CEA.

RESULTS

Of 98,055 CEA cases, 26,716 (27.3%) were performed with completion imaging. Compared with cases in which completion imaging was not performed, completion imaging was associated with increased rates of immediate re-exploration (3.5% vs 0.9%; odds ratio [OR], 3.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.74-5.38; P < .001), overall return to the operating room (RTOR; 1.6% vs 1.2%; OR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.08-1.42; P < .01), and longer operative time (median [interquartile range], 105 minutes [82-132] vs 119 minutes [92-148]; P < .001). Of 1920 surgeons in our cohort, 45% never performed completion imaging, whereas 26% rarely performed completion imaging (for ≤20% of annual CEA cases), 9.5% performed it selectively (21%-79% of annual CEAs), and 19.6% used completion imaging routinely (≥80% of annual CEAs). Rarely performing completion imaging had higher rates of immediate re-exploration (6.5% vs 0.9%; OR, 7.2; 95% CI, 5.7-9.2; P < .001), in-hospital stroke (4.0% vs 1.1%; adjusted OR [aOR], 3.4; 95% CI, 2.6-4.6; P < .001), RTOR for bleeding (1.9% vs 0.9%; aOR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.5-2.9; P < .001), and neurologic events (1.5% vs 0.4%; aOR, 3.6; 95% CI, 2.2-5.9; P < .001) compared with not performing completion imaging. It was also associated with increased stroke/death and repeated revascularization at 30 days and significant restenosis at 1 year. On the other hand, performance of selective and routine completion imaging was associated with increased immediate re-exploration (selective: aOR, 3.2 [95% CI, 1.9-5.5; P < .001]; routine: aOR, 3.7 [95% CI, 2.5-5.6; P < .001]) without any increase in in-hospital, 30-day, and 1-year adverse outcomes compared with cases performed without completion imaging.

CONCLUSIONS

The performance of selective or routine completion imaging during CEA is safe and is not associated with increased adverse events compared with not using intraoperative completion imaging. However, rarely performing completion imaging is associated with a significant increase in the odds of perioperative stroke/death and RTOR, possibly because of unnecessary re-exploration for minor defects. The operator's experience and establishing a criterion for fixing residual defects are important to avoid unnecessary re-exploration.

[Diagnostic and Therapeutic Management of Carotid Artery Disease]

Diagnostic and Therapeutic Management of Carotid Artery Disease Abstract. A quarter of all ischemic strokes is caused by atherosclerotic obliterations of the extra- and intracranial brain-supplying vessels. The prevalence of atherosclerotic extracranial carotid stenosis rises up to 6-15 % from the age of 65. The risk of stroke in symptomatic carotid stenosis, i.e. after stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), is very high at 25 % within 14 days. Conservative therapy is the cornerstone of treatment by controlling the risk factors, treatment with platelet aggregation inhibitors and antihypertensive and lipid-lowering medication. Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is the first line treatment for symptomatic patients with a >50 % and asymptomatic patients with a >60 % carotid stenosis. In order to ensure the best possible treatment of patients with asymptomatic and symptomatic carotid stenosis, interdisciplinary cooperation in diagnostics, therapy and aftercare in a neuromedical centre of maximum care is necessary.