Twelve years of experience in carotid endarterectomy with general anesthesia and preserved consciousness

Thirty-day outcomes of carotid endarterectomy versus carotid artery stenting in asymptomatic and symptomatic patients: a propensity score-matched analysis

BACKGROUND

Technological and surgical approaches to carotid artery stenting (CAS) have evolved. Modern randomised controlled trials comparing CAS and carotid endarterectomy (CEA) are limited, and information about updated post-intervention outcomes are mostly from retrospective, small studies.

AIMS

This study aims to compare the 30-day outcomes of stroke, transient ischaemic attack (TIA), acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and death with propensity-matched groups of CEA and CAS in asymptomatic and symptomatic patients over a recent study period of new CAS technologies and approaches.

METHODS

A retrospective, observational, multicentre analysis was conducted including consecutive symptomatic and asymptomatic patients treated with either primary CEA or CAS for internal carotid artery stenosis, between 2015 and 2022. Patients were propensity score-matched based on comorbidities and assessed according to symptom status. Primary endpoints include composite ipsilateral stroke, TIA, AMI and death within 30 days. Secondary endpoints include technical success and length of hospital stay.

RESULTS

From a cohort of 1,110 patients, propensity matching produced 269 distinct treatment pairs (n=538). Most patients were asymptomatic (n=456, 85%). All 6 strokes were minor (CEA=2; CAS=4) and registered among asymptomatic patients. One AMI (CEA) and 1 patient death (CAS) were reported among symptomatic patients. Composite stroke/AMI/death were not significantly different between both types of symptom status and both revascularisation techniques (p=0.44 and p=1, respectively). Technical success was 100%. The length of hospital stay was significantly shorter in asymptomatic patients treated with CAS compared to those treated with CEA (p=0.05), but no difference was registered among symptomatic patients (p=0.32).

CONCLUSIONS

Propensity-matched analysis suggests that CAS has similar postprocedural outcomes for stroke, AMI and death at 30 days compared to CEA.

Defining the awake baseline blood pressure in patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy

BACKGROUND

To minimize the incidence of intraoperative stroke following carotid endarterectomy (CEA) under general anesthesia, blood pressure (BP) is suggested to be maintained between "awake baseline" BP and 20% above. However, there is neither a widely accepted protocol nor a definition to determine this awake BP. In this study, we analyzed the BP during hospital admission in the days before CEA and propose a definition of how to determine awake BP.

METHODS

In our cohort of 1180 CEA-patients, all noninvasive BP measurements were retrospectively analyzed. BP was measured during preoperative outpatient screening (POS), the last three days before surgery at the ward and in the operating room (OR) directly before anesthesia. Primary outcome was the comparability of all these preoperative BP measurements. Secondary outcome was the comparability of preoperative BP measurements stratified for postoperative stroke within 30 days.

RESULTS

POS BP (148±22/80±12 mmHg [mean arterial pressure, MAP: 103±14 mmHg]) and the BP measured on the ward 3, 2, 1 days before surgery and on the day of surgery (146±25/77±13 [MAP: 100±15]), (142±23/76±13 [MAP: 98±15]), (145±23/76±12 [MAP: 99±14]) and (144±22/75±12 mmHg [MAP: 98±14]) were comparable (all P=NS). However, BP in the OR directly before anesthesia was higher, (163±27/88±15 mmHg [MAP: 117±18mmHg]) (P<0.01 vs. all other preoperative moments). A significant higher preinduction systolic BP and MAP was observed in patients suffering a stroke within 30 days compared to patients without (P=0.03 and 0.04 respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Awake BP should be determined by averaging available BP values collected preoperatively on the ward and POS. BP measured in the OR directly before induction of anesthesia overestimates "awake" BP; and therefore, it should not be used.