Treatment of aortic aneurysms registered in Swedvasc: Development reflected in a national vascular registry with an almost 100% coverage

Swedvasc is a registry for vascular surgical procedures, both open and endovascular. It was started in 1987 and since 1994 the whole population of Sweden is covered, at present around 10 million inhabitants. In a recent external validation, it was found to be highly accurate with abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery correctly reported in >96%. In this paper various factors explaining the almost 100% coverage are discussed, one important being that the registry has been developed and maintained within the profession of vascular surgery and not dictated by authorities. Another factor of importance is the possibility to use data in various research projects and so far 15 PhD theses have used Swedvasc data. To exemplify the practical use of the registry, the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms is scrutinized and among the various complications abdominal compartment syndrome is analyzed. Several significant temporal changes have been observed over the almost 25 years of Swedvasc: increasing use of endovascular surgery, treatment of aneurysms detected by screening , decreasing treatment for rupture, improved outcome, increasing treatment of older patients and patients with comorbid conditions. In conclusion, a high quality national vascular registry can be valid with high compliance and can be used to study population-based development of treatment and outcome. It can also be used to perform international comparisons with other registries, thereby getting an indication of the quality of care.