Annals of vascular surgery
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Case Reports
Successful management of threatened aortic rupture late after rib fracture caused by blunt chest trauma.
A 62-year-old man was crushed in a car accident and diagnosed with a fractured left ninth rib, pulmonary and heart contusion, hemopneumothorax, and descending aortic injury based on a computed tomography scan. He underwent chest tube drainage and was intubated for mechanical ventilation because a bone fragment of the ninth rib threatened to penetrate the descending aorta. On the second posttrauma day, computed tomography showed the bone fragment of the ninth rib approaching the descending aorta. He underwent graft replacement of the injured portion of the descending thoracic aorta, and we removed the fractured left ninth rib.
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We present a 33-year-old woman with deep venous thrombosis of the left iliac vein and the left lower limb. A computed tomography scan of her abdomen revealed a hypoplastic inferior vena cava and agenesis of the right kidney. Congenital anomalies of the inferior vena cava are uncommon and are sometimes an unrecognized cause of deep venous thrombosis.
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After endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) for treatment of aortoiliac aneurysms, patients commonly develop an inflammatory reaction: Postimplantation syndrome (PIS). Clinically, it may be hard to separate PIS from an infectious complication. Procalcitonin (PCT) is a diagnostic marker for severe bacterial infections and sepsis. We hypothesize that low-PCT levels facilitate the PIS diagnosis after EVAR. ⋯ In patients with PIS after EVAR, there was a strong inflammatory reaction. In the PIS condition, PCT remains low. This pilot study shows that PCT may be useful for the PIS diagnosis.
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Comparative Study
Carotid endarterectomy national trends over a decade: does sex matter?
The objective was to evaluate the difference in timing (if any) of in-hospital carotid endarterectomy (CEA) or outcomes of CEA based on sex among men and women hospitalized for carotid artery disease. ⋯ In this decade-long national population-based study of hospitalized patients undergoing CEA, women had lower perioperative cardiac morbidity and mortality rates than men. After adjusting for patient, clinical, and hospital factors, there is no discernible difference in timing of CEA based on sex.
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Comparative Study Observational Study
Elective endovascular aneurysm repair in the elderly: trends and outcomes from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample.
This study attempted to identify trends in the use of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) and outcomes in elective abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair over a 5-year period in a nationwide dataset, with specific attention to patients older than 80 years. ⋯ EVAR is being performed with increasing frequency in patients older than 80 years, with one-quarter of EVAR performed in patients aged 80 years and older in the current sample. Although mortality rates remain acceptable in this elderly population, EVAR and OAR are associated with an age-dependent increase in death, complications, and discharge to extended care facilities. These factors, in addition to long-term risk of aneurysm rupture, should be considered when evaluating the appropriateness of elective aneurysm repair in the elderly.