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Previous Volume 352:2398-2405 June 9, 2005 Number 23 Next

	Full Text PDF PDA Full Text PowerPoint Slide Set Editorial by Lederle, F. A. Letters Add to Personal Archive Add to Citation Manager Notify a Friend E-mail When Cited E-mail When Letters Appear PubMed Citation

ABSTRACT

Background Two randomized trials have shown better outcomes with elective endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms than with conventional open repair in the first month after the procedure. We investigated whether this advantage is sustained beyond the perioperative period.

Methods We conducted a multicenter, randomized trial comparing open repair with endovascular repair in 351 patients who had received a diagnosis of abdominal aortic aneurysm of at least 5 cm in diameter and who were considered suitable candidates for both techniques. Survival after randomization was calculated with the use of Kaplan–Meier analysis and compared with the use of the log-rank test on an intention-to-treat-basis.

Results Two years after randomization, the cumulative survival rates were 89.6 percent for open repair and 89.7 percent for endovascular repair (difference, –0.1 percentage point; 95 percent confidence interval, –6.8 to 6.7 percentage points). The cumulative rates of aneurysm-related death were 5.7 percent for open repair and 2.1 percent for endovascular repair (difference, 3.7 percentage points; 95 percent confidence interval, –0.5 to 7.9 percentage points). This advantage of endovascular repair over open repair was entirely accounted for by events occurring in the perioperative period, with no significant difference in subsequent aneurysm-related mortality. The rate of survival free of moderate or severe complications was also similar in the two groups at two years (at 65.9 percent for open repair and 65.6 percent for endovascular repair; difference, 0.3 percentage point; 95 percent confidence interval, –10.0 to 10.6 percentage points).

Conclusions The perioperative survival advantage with endovascular repair as compared with open repair is not sustained after the first postoperative year.

Source Information

From the Department of Vascular Surgery, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen (J.D.B., S.E.C.A.J.); the Division of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery (M.P., H.J.M.V.), and the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care (S.E.C.A.J., E.B., D.E.G.), University Medical Center, Utrecht; the Department of Surgery, St. Franciscus Gasthuis, Rotterdam (A.C.H.); the Department of Surgery, Catharina Hospital, Eindhoven (J.B.); and the Department of Surgery, Rijnstate Hospital, Arnhem (S.M.M.S.) — all in the Netherlands.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Blankensteijn at the Department of Vascular Surgery (410), Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, the Netherlands, or at j.blankensteijn{at}chir.umcn.nl.

Full Text of this Article

Related Letters:

Endovascular Repair of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
Schouten O., Bax J. J., Poldermans D., Blankensteijn J. D., Grobbee D. E.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2005; 353:1181-1182, Sep 15, 2005. Correspondence

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