Background There is a lack of consensus on the benefit of early thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) over medical management for uncomplicated acute type B aortic dissection (aTBAD). The aim of this study is to compare readmissions of TEVAR versus medical management as the initial treatment strategy for uncomplicated aTBAD using the Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD). Methods The NRD was created under the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, comprising over half of the U.S. inpatient population. Patients admitted for uncomplicated aTBAD were queried from the NRD from 2016 to 2018. Risk of index admission mortality, spinal cord ischemia, stroke, and overall major complication; 90-day readmission and 90-day treatment failure, between TEVAR and medical management alone. Results A total of 12,645 patients with an uncomplicated aTBAD were identified (TEVAR 12% and medical management 88%). Overall major complications during index admission were higher in the medical management group (27% vs 40%, p < .0001). On multivariate analysis TEVAR was associated with lower mortality (OR: 0.47, p < .0001), but a significantly higher rate of spinal cord ischemia (OR: 2.49, p < .0001), with no difference in stroke (OR: 0.93, p = .73). 90-day readmission rates were high but were not significantly different between treatment types (22% vs 25%, OR: 0.88, p = .14). Similarly, TEVAR was not associated with a lower rate of 90-day treatment failure (OR: 0.61, p = .22). Four TEVAR (0.3%) and 40 medical management (0.5%) patients were readmitted for treatment failure due to retrograde type A dissection. Conclusions TEVAR for uncomplicated aTBAD was not associated with a lower 90-day readmission rate. Similarly, TEVAR was not associated with a lower rate of 90-day treatment failure. These findings provide further evidence to the equipoise of treatment options and support the need for the randomized trials currently ongoing in the U.S. and Europe investigating outcomes of TEVAR versus medical management for the treatment of uncomplicated aTBAD.
Orloff et al. (Wed,) studied this question.