Persisting disparities between sexes in outcomes of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm hospitalizations

We sought to describe and analyze discrepancies between sexes in the outcomes of patients hospitalized for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (rAAA) by conducting a retrospective analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample. The review included all adult patients (≥18 years old) hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of rAAA between January 2002 and December 2014. In-hospital mortality differences between females and males were analyzed overall and separately among those receiving endovascular AAA repair (EVAR) or open AAA repair (OAR). In-hospital mortality for females declined from 61.0% in 2002 to 49.0% in 2014 (P for trend <0.001), while mortality for males declined from 48.6% in 2002 to 32.2% in 2014 (P for trend <0.001). Among those receiving EVAR, females were significantly more likely to die in the hospital than males (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.44; 95% CI, 1.12–1.84). In addition, the odds of mortality among those receiving OAR were higher for females than males (adjusted OR, 1.14; 95% CI: 1.00–1.31). These data provide evidence that despite overall decreasing trends in mortality for both sexes, females remain at higher risk of death compared with males regardless of surgical repair procedure.