Postoperative complications of endovascular blunt thoracic aortic injury repair

BACKGROUND: Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) has become the standard of care for thoracic aortic aneurysms and increasingly for blunt thoracic aortic injury (BTAI). Postoperative complications, including spinal cord ischemia and paraplegia, have been shown to be less common with elective TEVAR than with open thoracic or thoracoabdominal repair. Although small cohort studies exist, the postoperative complications of endovascular repair of traumatic aortic injury have not been described through large data set analysis. METHODS: A retrospective cohort analysis was performed of the American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program registry spanning from 2007 to 2017. All patients with BTAI who underwent TEVAR, as indicated by the Abbreviated Injury Scale or the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9 or ICD-10), were included. Categorical data were presented as proportions and continuous data as mean and SD. OR was calculated for each postoperative complication. RESULTS: 2990 patients were identified as having undergone TEVAR for BTAI. The postoperative incidence of stroke was 2.8% (83), and 4.7% (140) of patients suffered acute kidney injury or renal failure. The incidence of spinal cord ischemia was 1.9% (58), whereas 0.2% (7) of patients suffered complete paraplegia. Renal events and stroke were found to occur significantly more frequently in those undergoing TEVAR (OR 1.758, 1.449–2.134 and OR 2.489, 1.917–3.232, respectively). Notably, there was no difference between TEVAR and non-operative BTAI incidences of spinal cord ischemia or paraplegia (OR 1.061, 0.799–1.409 and OR 1.698, 0.728–3.961, respectively). DISCUSSION: Postoperative intensive care unit care of patients after BTAI has historically focused on awareness of spinal cord ischemia. Our analysis suggests that after endovascular repair of blunt aortic trauma, care should involve vigilance primarily against postoperative cerebrovascular and renal events. Further study is warranted to develop guidelines for the intensivist managing patients after TEVAR for BTAI. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.