Trends and Outcomes of Elective Thoracic Aortic Repair and Acute Thoracic Aortic Syndromes in the United States

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of data on the contemporary outcomes and trends of elective thoracic aortic aneurysm repair and aneurysm-associated acute aortic syndrome. METHODS: We queried the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database years 2012-2016 to identify hospitalizations for elective thoracic aortic aneurysm repair and aneurysm-associated acute aortic syndrome. The main study outcome was in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: The analysis yielded 24,295 hospitalizations for elective thoracic aortic aneurysm repair and 8875 hospitalizations for aneurysm-associated acute aortic syndrome. The number of hospitalizations for elective aortic repair significantly increased from 4375 in 2012 to 5450 in 2016 (P-trend=.01). The number of hospitalizations for acute aortic syndrome numerically increased from 1545 in 2012 to 2340 in 2016 (P-trend=.10). Overall in-hospital mortality for elective aortic repair was 2.4% with no change over time. In-hospital mortality for acute aortic rupture was 39.4% and for acute aortic dissection was 6.2% with no change over time. Hospitalizations for elective aortic repair had lower incidence of complications compared with those for aneurysm-associated acute aortic syndrome, including cardiogenic shock, cardiac arrest, acute stroke, and shorter length of stay. Factors associated with higher mortality among admissions undergoing elective aortic repair included older age, heart failure, valvular disease, and chronic kidney disease. Older age, coagulopathy, and fluid/electrolytes disorders were associated with increased mortality among those with acute aortic syndrome. CONCLUSION: Contemporary elective thoracic aortic aneurysm repair is associated with lower in-hospital mortality and morbidity when compared with a clinical presentation for an aneurysm-associated acute aortic syndrome. This should be taken into account when deciding the timing of elective aortic aneurysm repair and balancing the risks and benefits. Published by Elsevier Inc.