Stanford type B aortic dissection is more frequently associated with coronary artery atherosclerosis than type A

Correlation of the serum cell division cycle 42 with CD4+ T cell subsets and in-hospital mortality in Stanford type B aortic dissection patients

Objective

Cell division cycle 42 (CDC42) regulates CD4+ T-cell differentiation and participates in vascular stiffness and atherosclerosis and is involved in the progression of Stanford type B aortic dissection (TBAD). This study aimed to explore the correlation between serum CDC42 level and CD4+ T cell subsets and in-hospital mortality in TBAD patients.

Methods

Serum CDC42 and peripheral blood T-helper (Th) 1, Th2, and Th17 cells were detected in 127 TBAD patients by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Serum CDC42 was also quantified in 30 healthy controls.

Results

Serum CDC42 was decreased in TBAD patients vs. healthy controls (median [interquartile range (IQR)]: 418.0 (228.0-761.0) pg/ml vs. 992.0 (716.3-1,445.8) pg/ml, P < 0.001). In TBAD patients, serum CDC42 was negatively correlated with Th17 cells (P = 0.001), but not Th1 (P = 0.130) or Th2 cells (P = 0.098). Seven (5.5%) patients experienced in-hospital mortality. Serum CDC42 was reduced in patients who experienced in-hospital mortality vs. those who did not (median (IQR): 191.0 (145.0-345.0) pg/ml vs. 451.5 (298.3-766.8) pg/ml, P = 0.006). By receiver operating characteristic analysis, serum CDC42 showed a good ability for estimating in-hospital mortality [area under curve = 0.809, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.662-0.956]. By the multivariate logistic regression analysis, elevated serum CDC42 [odd ratio (OR) = 0.994, 95% CI = 0.998-1.000, P = 0.043] was independently correlated with lower risk of in-hospital mortality, while higher age (OR = 1.157, 95% CI = 1.017-1.316, P = 0.027) was an independent factor for increased risk of in-hospital mortality.

Conclusion

Serum CDC42 negatively associates with Th17 cells and is independently correlated with decreased in-hospital mortality risk in TBAD patients.

Evidence Accumulates: Patients with Ascending Aneurysms Are Strongly Protected from Atherosclerotic Disease

Ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms may be fatal upon rupture or dissection and remain a leading cause of death in the developed world. Understanding the pathophysiology of the development of ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms may help reduce the morbidity and mortality of this disease. In this review, we will discuss our current understanding of the protective relationship between ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms and the development of atherosclerosis, including decreased carotid intima-media thickness, low-density lipoprotein levels, coronary and aortic calcification, and incidence of myocardial infarction. We also propose several possible mechanisms driving this relationship, including matrix metalloproteinase proteins and transforming growth factor-β.

Coronary Calcium Predicts All-Cause Mortality in Suspected Acute Aortic Syndrome

PURPOSE

To determine long-term clinical outcomes in patients with suspected acute aortic syndrome (AAS) and evaluate the prognostic value of coronary calcium burden as assessed with CT aortography in this symptomatic population.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective cohort of all patients who underwent emergency CT aortography from January 2007 through January 2012 for suspected AAS was assembled. A medical record survey tool was used to evaluate subsequent clinical events over 10 years of follow-up. Events included death, aortic dissection, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident, and pulmonary embolism. Coronary calcium scores were computed from original images using a validated simple 12-point ordinal method and categorized into none, low (1-3), moderate (4-6), or high (7-12) groupings. Survival analysis with Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazard modeling was performed.

RESULTS

The study cohort comprised 1658 patients (mean age, 60 years ± 16 [SD]; 944 women), with 595 (35.9%) developing a clinical event over a median follow-up of 6.9 years. Patients with high coronary calcium demonstrated the highest mortality rate (adjusted hazard ratio = 2.36; 95% CI: 1.65, 3.37). Patients with low coronary calcium demonstrated lower mortality, but rates were still almost twice as high compared with patients with no detectable calcium (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.89; 95% CI: 1.41, 2.53). Coronary calcium was a strong predictor of major adverse cardiovascular events (P < .001), which persisted after adjustment for common significant comorbidities.

CONCLUSION

Patients with suspected AAS had a high rate of subsequent clinical events, including death. CT aortography-based coronary calcium scores strongly and independently predicted all-cause mortality.Keywords: Acute Aortic Syndrome, Coronary Artery Calcium, CT Aortography, Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events, Mortality Supplemental material is available for this article. © RSNA, 2023See also commentary by Weir-McCall and Shambrook in this issue.

Prediction of in-hospital death following acute type A aortic dissection

Background

Our goal was to create a prediction model for in-hospital death in Chinese patients with acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD).

Methods

A retrospective derivation cohort was made up of 340 patients with ATAAD from Tianjin, and the retrospective validation cohort was made up of 153 patients with ATAAD from Nanjing. For variable selection, we used least absolute shrinkage and selection operator analysis, and for risk scoring, we used logistic regression coefficients. We categorized the patients into low-, middle-, and high-risk groups and looked into the correlation with in-hospital fatalities. We established a risk classifier based on independent baseline data using a multivariable logistic model. The prediction performance was determined based on the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). Individualized clinical decision-making was conducted by weighing the net benefit in each patient by decision curve analysis (DCA).

Results

We created a risk prediction model using risk scores weighted by five preoperatively chosen variables [AUC: 0.7039 (95% CI, 0.643–0.765)]: serum creatinine (Scr), D-dimer, white blood cell (WBC) count, coronary heart disease (CHD), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN). Following that, we categorized the cohort's patients as low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups. The intermediate- and high-risk groups significantly increased hospital death rates compared to the low-risk group [adjusted OR: 3.973 (95% CI, 1.496–10.552), P &lt; 0.01; 8.280 (95% CI, 3.054–22.448), P &lt; 0.01, respectively). The risk score classifier exhibited better prediction ability than the triple-risk categories classifier [AUC: 0.7039 (95% CI, 0.6425–0.7652) vs. 0.6605 (95% CI, 0.6013–0.7197); P = 0.0022]. The DCA showed relatively good performance for the model in terms of clinical application if the threshold probability in the clinical decision was more than 10%.

Conclusion

A risk classifier is an effective strategy for predicting in-hospital death in patients with ATAAD, but it might be affected by the small number of participants.

Coronary artery disease as an independent predictor of short-term and long-term outcomes in patients with type-B aortic dissection undergoing thoracic endovascular repair

Background and aims

Previous studies reported a high prevalence of concomitant coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with Type B aortic dissection (TBAD). However, there is too limited data on the impact of CAD on prognosis in patients with TBAD. The present study aimed to assess the short-term and long-term impact of CAD on patients with acute or subacute TBAD undergoing thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR).

Methods

We retrospectively evaluated 463 patients with acute or subacute TBAD undergoing TEVAR from a prospectively maintained database from 2010 to 2017. CAD was defined before TEVAR by coronary angiography. Multivariable logistic and cox regression analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship between CAD and the short-term as well as long-term outcomes.

Results

According to the results of coronary angiography, the 463 patients were divided into the following two groups: CAD group (N = 148), non-CAD group (N = 315). In total, 12 (2.6%) in-hospital deaths and 54 (12%) all-cause deaths following a median follow-up of 48.1 months were recorded. Multivariable analysis revealed that CAD was an independent predictor of in-hospital major adverse clinical events (MACE) (odd ratio [OR], 2.33; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-5.08; p = 0.033), long-term mortality [hazard ratio (HR), 2.11, 95% CI, 1.19-3.74, P = 0.011] and long-term MACE (HR, 1.95, 95% CI, 1.26-3.02, P = 0.003). To further clarify the relationship between the severity of CAD and long-term outcomes, we categorized patients into three groups: zero-vessel disease, single-vessel disease and multi-vessel disease. The long-term mortality (9.7 vs. 14.4 vs. 21.2%, P = 0.045), and long-term MACE (16.8 vs. 22.2 vs. 40.4%, P = 0.001) increased with the number of identified stenosed coronary vessels. Multivariable analysis indicated that, multi-vessel disease was independently associated with long-term mortality (HR, 2.38, 95% CI, 1.16-4.89, P = 0.018) and long-term MACE (HR, 2.79, 95% CI, 1.65-4.73, P = 0.001), compared with zero-vessel disease.

Conclusions

CAD was associated with short-term and long-term worse outcomes in patients with acute or subacute TBAD undergoing TEVAR. Furthermore, the severity of CAD was also associated with worse long-term prognosis. Therefore, CAD could be considered as a useful independent predictor for pre-TEVAR risk stratification in patients with TBAD.

Coronary artery disease in aortic aneurysm and dissection

Coexisting coronary artery disease is a significant risk factor of untoward outcomes after surgical and endovascular aortic repair. This article reviewed the data, consensus, and remaining controversy about the diagnosis and management of coexisting coronary artery disease in the patients who require intervention for aortic aneurysm and dissection. It can be summarized as follows: (1) the current guidelines generally recommend the same diagnostic algorithm, including indications of coronary artery angiography, as one for non-surgical patients; (2) they also recommend the same indications of coronary revascularization; and (3) there are minor, but important, remaining issues regarding the details of management and surgical techniques most of which are still at the discretion of individual surgeons and institutions. Because it is not likely to get large-scale investigational data about these issues, the collection of individual experiences should be promoted in future scientific meetings to build up the consensus.

Long-term results of type B aortic dissection patients with tumor after endovascular repair or optimal medical therapy: a single-center and retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

The effect of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) for acute Type B aortic has been confirmed, However, when patients with malignant disease suffer from acute type B aortic dissection (ATBAD), the effect of TEVAR intervention is still unclear.

METHODS

ATBAD patients were identified from electronic medical records between 2009 and 2019. The 5 year overall and aortic-disease free survival rates were analyzed and compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

Of the 40 enrolled patients, 27 (67.5%) received TEVAR and 13 (32.5%) received OMT. The baseline characteristics of the two groups were not significantly different. Kaplan‒Meier survival curve showed that the 5 year overall survival and 5 year aortic-disease free survival of the TEVAR group were better than those of the OMT group. The Cox proportional hazard model with unadjusted risk showed an 83.0% decrease in 5 year overall mortality (HR, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.05-0.56) and a lower aortic-disease related risk (HR, 0.08; 95% CI, 0.02-0.39) in TEVAR group compared to OMT group. After adjusted for age, gender, smoking, drinking and comorbidities (diabetes mellitus, hypertension and coronary artery diseases), the hazard ratio of 5 year overall mortality was 78.0% lower (HR, 0.22; 95% CI, 0.06.0.81) and the risk of aortic-disease related mortality was 93.0% lower (HR, 0.07; 95% CI, 0.01-0.61) in TEVAR group compared to OMT group. In the cohort stratified by age, sex, the risk of the 5 year overall or aortic-disease related mortality in TEVAR group was relatively reduced compared to OMT group.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared to OMT, TEVAR improves the 5 year overall and aortic-disease free survival rates in the cohort of ATBAD patients with a single type of malignant tumors.

Clinical Efficacy of Hybrid Surgery for Stanford Type A Aortic Dissection

INTRODUCTION

To evaluate the clinical efficacy of hybrid surgery for Stanford type A aortic dissection.

METHODS

Twenty-two patients with Stanford type A aortic dissection were selected. All patients had completed or undergone hybrid surgery, including extracorporeal circulation, treatment of proximal anastomosis of ascending aorta and the distal anastomosis of the ascending aorta, management of the branch vessels on the arch, aortic endovascular repair. This study analyzed the time of surgery and awake, blood transfusion during surgery, patient's drainage, complications and CTA of aorta was re-examined about one month after operation during patients follow-up.

RESULTS

All patients underwent the operation successfully. One patient died of renal failure after the operation. Two patients experienced postoperative neurological complications (anxiety and delirium). Renal function was abnormal in two patients, and one patient needed bedside blood filtration. The serum creatinine levels temporarily increased in seven patients. No stent migration was found during patient follow-up. There was no shift in the stents. The near end of the interlayer was well sealed, without leakage of contrast agent, and the false lumen near the stent was completely thrombosed. Compared with the pre-operative CTA, the true lumen was enlarged and the false lumen was reduced, and the false lumen was completely thrombosed in the proximal end and near the stent. Contrast media was seen in the false lumen.

CONCLUSION

One-stage hybrid surgery for Stanford type A aortic dissection can avoid deep hypothermic circulatory arrest, shorten operation time, reduce operation trauma, and reduce the incidence of postoperative complications. This treatment has a effective treatment effect in the short term. However, the limitations imposed by covered stent materials mean that the treatment's long-term effect is not yet clear, and further research is needed.

Early and late outcomes of non-total aortic arch replacement for repair of acute Stanford Type A aortic dissection

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluated the early and late outcomes of non-total aortic arch replacement for acute Stanford A aortic dissection.

METHODS

131 cases of acute Stanford Type A aortic dissection with no rupture admitted to our hospital from January 2016 to December 2019 were selected for non-total aortic arch replacement. According to different surgical methods, 51 patients with tear-oriented ascending/hemiarch replacement were included in Group A, and 80 patients who underwent total arch replacement surgery were enrolled in Group B. The perioperative indicators, 30-day mortality rate, and the incidence of postoperative complications were compared between the two groups, and the survival rate of patients were compared by follow-up after discharge.

RESULTS

The cardiopulmonary bypass time, cardiac perfusion time, invasive ventilation and ICU hospitalization in Group A were critically shorter than those in Group B (P<0.05). The incidence of transient cerebral dysfunction in Group A was substantially lower than that in Group B (P<0.05). The difference of comparison in perioperative mortality, incidence of permanent neurological dysfunction, and incidence of acute kidney and liver damage between the two groups was statistically insignificant (P>0.05). In addition, the two groups had statistically insignificant difference in survival during postoperative follow-up (P>0.05).

CONCLUSION

For acute Stanford type A aortic dissection without rupture in aortic arch, the non-total aortic arch replacement has simple surgical method with high perioperative safety and long-term efficacy that similar to total arch replacement.

Diagnostic value of monocyte to high-density lipoprotein ratio in acute aortic dissection in a Chinese han population

Background: Recently, considerable evidence pointed out monocyte to high-density lipoprotein ratio (MHR) is highly related to inflammatory related diseases. We aim to explore the level of MHR in acute aortic dissection (AAD) patients and determine whether MHR can be a novel diagnostic marker of AAD. Research design and methods: A total of 228 subjects including 128 AAD patients and 110 healthy control were enrolled. MHR levels and other serum samples were obtained at admission. Results: The baseline MHR levels were significantly higher in patients with AAD (p < 0.0001). A cutoff value of MHR >0.37 was associated with a sensitivity of 86.70% and a specificity of 93.60% for AAD. MHR levels were positively correlated with the time from symptom onset (R² = 0.0318, p = 0.0003). Additionally, the area under the curve (AUC) was increased to 0.979 in patients whose time from onset of symptoms >24 h, with a sensitivity of 98.04% and a specificity of 93.64%. Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated that MHR levels, history of hypertension, and coronary artery disease (CHD) emerged as independent predictors of AAD. Expert Opinion: MHR has a high diagnostic value in AAD patients, especially in those whose time from onset of symptoms >24 h.