Preoperative COVID-19 Vaccination is Associated with Decreased Perioperative Mortality after Major Vascular Surgery

Background The objective of this study was to examine the effect of COVID-19 vaccination on perioperative outcomes after major vascular surgery. Methods This is a multicenter retrospective study of patients who underwent major vascular surgery between December 2021 through August 2023. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality within 30 days of index operation or prior to hospital discharge. Multivariable models were used to examine the association between vaccination status and the primary outcome. Results Of the total 85,424 patients included, 19161 (22.4%) were unvaccinated. Unvaccinated patients were younger compared to vaccinated patients (mean age 68.44 +/− 10.37 years vs 72.11 +/− 9.20 years, p <.001) and less likely to have comorbid conditions, including hypertension (87.2% vs 89.7%, p <.001), congestive heart failure (14.5% vs 15.9%, p <.001), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (35.7% vs 36.3, p <.001) and renal failure requiring hemodialysis (1.4% vs 1.7%, p = .005). After risk factor adjustment, vaccination was associated with decreased mortality (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.62 - 0.81, p <.0001). Stratification by procedure type demonstrated that vaccinated patients had decreased odds of mortality after open AAA (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.42-0.97, p = 0.03), EVAR (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.43-0.83, p 0.002), CAS (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.51-0.88, p = 0.004) and infra-inguinal lower extremity interventions (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.48-0.96, p = 0.03). Conclusions COVID-19 vaccination is associated with reduced perioperative mortality in patients undergoing vascular surgery. This association is most pronounced for patients undergoing aortic aneurysm repair, carotid stenting and infrainguinal bypass.