Clinical research study
Differences in readmissions after open repair versus endovascular aneurysm repair

Presented at the Twenty-sixth Annual Meeting Western Vascular Society, Kauai, Hawaii, September 17-20, 2011.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvs.2012.07.005Get rights and content
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Objective

Reintervention rates after repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) are higher for endovascular repair (EVAR) than for open repair, mostly due to treatment for endoleaks, whereas open surgical operations for bowel obstruction and abdominal hernias are higher after open repair. However, readmission rates after EVAR or open repair for nonoperative conditions and complications that do not require an intervention are not well documented. We sought to determine reasons for all-cause readmissions within the first year after open repair and EVAR.

Methods

Patients who underwent elective AAA repair in California during a 6-year period were identified from the Health Care and Utilization Project State Inpatient Database. All patients who had a readmission in California ≤1 year of their index procedure were included for evaluation. Readmission rates and primary and secondary diagnoses associated with each readmission were analyzed and recorded.

Results

From 2003 to 2008, there were 15,736 operations for elective AAA repair, comprising 9356 EVARs (60%) and 6380 open repairs (40%). At 1 year postoperatively, the readmission rate was 52.1% after open repair and 55.4% after EVAR (P = .0003). The three most common principle diagnoses associated with readmission after any type of AAA repair were failure to thrive, cardiac issues, and infection. When stratified by repair type, patients who underwent open repair were more likely to be readmitted with primary diagnoses associated with failure to thrive, cardiac complications, and infection compared with EVAR (all P < .001). Those who underwent EVAR were more likely, however, to be readmitted with primary diagnoses of device-related complications (P = .05), cardiac complications, and infection.

Conclusions

Total readmission rates within 1 year after elective AAA repair are greater after EVAR than after open repair. Reasons for readmission vary between the two cohorts but are related to the magnitude of open surgery after open repair, device issues after EVAR, and the usual cardiac and infectious complications after either intervention. Systems-based analysis of these causes of readmission can potentially improve patient expectations and care after elective aneurysm repair.

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This project was supported in part by grant number K01 HS018558 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (awarded to T.H.-B.). The content of this manuscript is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The views expressed in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, or the United States government.

Author conflict of interest: none.

The editors and reviewers of this article have no relevant financial relationships to disclose per the JVS policy that requires reviewers to decline review of any manuscript for which they may have a conflict of interest.