Thoracic aorta endografts: Variations in practice among medical specialists

Background: Endovascular stent‐graft placement is emerging as a novel treatment option for patients with diseases of the descending thoracic aorta. However, currently no consensus guidelines exist to direct uniformity in stent‐graft procedures as well as for pre‐ and postprocedural patient managemen...

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Published in:Catheterization and cardiovascular interventions 2006-12, Vol.68 (6), p.843-852
Main Authors: Eggebrecht, Holger, Pamler, Reinhard, Zipfel, Burkhart, Herold, Ulf, Chavan, Ajay, Rehders, Tim C., Nienaber, Christoph A., Hetzer, Roland, Jakob, Heinz G., Mehta, Rajendra H., Erbel, Raimund
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
aneurysms
Angioplasty - methods
Aorta, Thoracic - diagnostic imaging
Aorta, Thoracic - surgery
Aortic Aneurysm - diagnostic imaging
Aortic Aneurysm - surgery
Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation - methods
Cardiology - manpower
dissection stent-graft
endovascular
Germany
Health Care Surveys
Humans
Practice Guidelines as Topic
Practice Patterns, Physicians' - statistics & numerical data
Radiography
Radiology, Interventional - manpower
Stents - utilization
thoracic
Thoracic Surgery - manpower
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Summary:Background: Endovascular stent‐graft placement is emerging as a novel treatment option for patients with diseases of the descending thoracic aorta. However, currently no consensus guidelines exist to direct uniformity in stent‐graft procedures as well as for pre‐ and postprocedural patient management, unlike that for the management of other cardiovascular disorder. Accordingly, the aim of the present survey was to assess variations in thoracic aortic stent‐graft practice among different subspecialties in Germany. Methods: An interdisciplinary questionnaire survey was conducted among 206 departments of vascular surgery, radiology, cardiology, and cardiothoracic surgery in Germany that actively performed aortic stent‐graft placement. Data on preoperative procedure planning, logistics, practical/technical issues of stent‐graft placement, and postoperative patient management were evaluated using a standardized, self‐administered questionnaire comprising 29 items. Responses were tabulated for analysis. Results: Of a total of 206 questionnaires, 184 (89.3%) were returned with 71 (38.5%) centers reporting to have performed thoracic aortic stent‐graft placement (total number of procedures 2,267) through 1997 and 2003. The average number of stent‐graft procedures per year was 7.4 (25–75% percentile, 2.05–10.75) at participating sites, with 49% of the respondents reporting
ISSN:1522-1946
1522-726X
DOI:10.1002/ccd.20857