Key result
Longer travel distance prior to type A dissection repair is not associated with increased operative mortality.
Why the study?
Few data are available to examine the impact of travel distance on outcomes in acute type A aortic dissection.
Does regional travel distance up to 100 miles increase operative mortality in patients undergoing acute type A aortic dissection repair?
Cohort (n=1,285)
Yes
Does regional travel distance up to 100 miles increase operative mortality in patients undergoing acute type A aortic dissection repair?
Odds Ratio: 0.99 (95% CI 0.98–1)
Absolute Event Rate: 21.9% vs 22.1%
p-value: p=0.073
Traveling up to 100 miles for acute type A aortic dissection repair does not increase operative mortality, highlighting that it is safe and potentially beneficial to transfer these patients to high-volume aortic centers.
Travel up to 100 miles was not associated with higher mortality; leaves open effects of greater distances and non-mortality outcomes.
Objectives: Few data are available to examine the impact of travel distance on outcomes in acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD). We hypothesized that longer travel would increase mortality after ATAAD repair. Methods: We studied the impact of travel distance ≤100 miles before ATAAD repair between July 2011 and September 2022 using a regional collaborative database. Patients were stratified into quartiles, and the longest and shortest distance quartiles were compared. High-volume centers were defined as those averaging >10 ATAAD repairs annually. Multivariable and hierarchical logistic regression models were fit to identify preoperative and intraoperative risk factors associated with operative mortality. Results: = .69) were nonsignificant. Conclusions: Hospital transfers and travel distances up to 100 miles for ATAAD repair did not increase operative mortality.
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Norman et al. (2026) conducted a cohort in Acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) (n=1,285). Longer travel distance (up to 100 miles) vs. Shorter travel distance was evaluated on Operative mortality (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.98-1.00, p=0.073). Longer travel distance (up to 100 miles) prior to acute type A aortic dissection repair was not associated with increased operative mortality (OR 0.99).
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