Black patients have a higher burden of comorbidities but a lower risk of 30-day and 1-year mortality after thoracic endovascular aortic repair

Background: Racial disparities in open thoracic aortic aneurysm repair have been well-documented, with Black patients reported to suffer from poor outcomes compared with their White counterparts. It is unclear whether these disparities extend to the less invasive thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). This study aims to examine the clinical characteristics, perioperative outcomes, and 1-year survival of Black vs White patients undergoing TEVAR in a national vascular surgery database. Methods: The Vascular Quality Initiative database was retrospectively queried to identify all patients who underwent TEVAR between January 2011 and December 2019. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 1-year survival after TEVAR. Secondary outcomes included various types of major postoperative complications. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of 30-day mortality and perioperative complications. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was used to determine the predictors of 1-year survival. Results: A total of 2669 patients with TEVAR were identified in the Vascular Quality Initiative, of whom 648 were Black patients (24.3%). Compared with White patients, Black patients were younger and had a higher burden of comorbidities, including hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, dialysis dependence, and anemia. Black patients were more likely to be symptomatic, present with aortic dissection, and undergo urgent or emergent repair. There was no statistically significant difference in 30-day mortality between Black and White patients (3.4% vs 4.9%; P=.1). After adjustment for demographics, comorbidities, and operative factors, Black patients were independently associated with a 56% decrease in 30-day mortality risk compared with their White counterparts (odds ratio, 0.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.22-0.85; P=.01) and not associated with an increased risk of perioperative complications (odds ratio, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.68-1.17; P=.42). Black patients also had a significantly better 1-year overall survival (log-rank, P=.024) and were associated with a significantly decreased 1-year mortality (hazard ratio, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.47-0.91; P=.01) after adjusting for multiple clinical factors. Conclusions: Although Black patients carried a higher burden of comorbidities, the racial disparities in perioperative outcomes and 1-year survival do not persist in TEVAR.