Annals of vascular surgery
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Emerging evidence suggests that severe form of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is mediated, in part, by a hypercoagulable state characterized by micro- and macro-vascular thrombotic angiopathy. Although venous thrombotic events in COVID-19 patients have been well described, data on arterial thrombosis (AT) in these patients is still limited. We, therefore, conducted a rapid systematic review of current scientific literature to identify and consolidate evidence of AT in COVID-19 patients. ⋯ AT occurs in approximately 4% of critically ill COVID-19 patients. It often presents symptomatically and can affect multiple arteries. Further investigation of the underlying mechanism of AT in COVID-19 would be needed to clarify possible therapeutic targets.
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Frailty is a syndrome where the ability to cope with acute physiological stress is compromised, although it is unclear what impact this stress has on long-term outcomes. Vascular-Physiological and Operative Severity Score for enumeration of Mortality and Morbidity is a validated method for calculating levels of stress associated with vascular procedures. We designed this study to evaluate the long-term impact of different levels of surgical stress among frail older patients undergoing vascular surgery procedures. ⋯ Frail patients who undergo high-stress vascular procedures have a significantly higher rate of complications leading to loss of functional independence and mortality within the year after their surgery. These data suggest that estimates of surgical stress should be incorporated into clinical decision making for frail older patients before and after surgery.
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Observational Study
The Interplay between Preoperative Anemia and Postoperative Blood Transfusion on Survival following Fenestrated Aortic Aneurysm Repair.
Anemia is associated with a higher mortality following standard endovascular aortic repair (EVAR). This study evaluates the impact of anemia on fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (FEVAR) for complex aneurysm (AAA) repair. ⋯ Anemia appears to be associated with an increased rate of postoperative MI, LOS, frequency of blood transfusion, and mortality rate following FEVAR but this surpassed by postoperative blood transfusion. Optimization of preoperative Hb should be considered as a potential target for improvements in clinical outcomes and hypothetically a consequential reduction in postoperative red blood cell transfusion need.
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Comparative Study
Endovascular Infrarenal Aortic Aneurysm Repair Performed in a Hybrid Operating Room Versus Conventional Operating Room Using a C-Arm.
To compare contrast usage and radiation exposure during endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) using mobile C-arm imaging in a conventional operating room (OR) or fixed angiographic equipment in a hybrid OR (HR). ⋯ Routine EVAR performed in a hybrid fixed-imaging suite may be associated with less contrast usage, but higher radiation exposure in our center. The significantly higher radiation exposure when the mobile C-arm is replaced by an HR should not be underestimated.
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Observational Study
Is There an Impact of COVID-19 on Admission of Patients to the Emergency Department for Vascular Surgery?
On March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak a pandemic. During this period, surgical activity and admission to the Emergency Department (ED) decreased globally. The aim of this article is to understand how the admission of a patient to the ED for vascular surgery changed in our center in Portugal and if this situation prevented urgent surgical procedures. ⋯ Fewer patients were admitted at the ED during the ES, and those admitted were significantly more urgent. We did not find a decrease in the number of urgent surgeries when compared with the preceding 10 years. Therefore, we cannot assume that coronavirus pandemic precluded urgent surgical procedures.