Validation of I71.3 code for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm in Korea: misplaced diagnosis in claims data

Purpose@#Studies in western countries have shown a decline in the incidence of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA) with advancements in endovascular repair and screening. However, according to health insurance data in Korea based on rAAA code (I71.3), overall rAAA has been increasing. This study aimed to validate the I71.3 code for rAAA and attempt to define the true incidence of rAAA in Korea. @*Methods@#A 20-year multicenter retrospective review of rAAA was undertaken from the period of January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2020. All patients were diagnosed with the rAAA code I71.3 in each of the 4 hospitals. The CT images and surgical records of these patients were reviewed to differentiate true rAAA and misdiagnosis. Further data on true rAAA patient outcomes including mortality and treatment success were also collected. @*Results@#A total of 305 rAAA (I71.3) codes were identified in the 4 centers. However, medical record review showed true rAAA in only 131 (43.0%). The remaining 174 cases (57.0%) were misdiagnosed. Impending ruptures were the most common misdiagnoses (37.9%). The total in-hospital mortality including deaths before treatment was 38.9% (n = 51), while mortality of treated patients was 24.4% (n = 15). @*Conclusion@#The analysis of I71.3 code for rAAA showed that only 43.0% were true rAAA and the remaining 57.0% were misdiagnosed. This indicates that the I71.3 code is overestimated in National Health Insurance-based data and that the true incidence of rAAA could be much lower.

Kidney Transplantation From Deceased Donors With Bloodstream Infection: A Multicenter Retrospective Study

Background@#The use of organs from donors with infection is limited because of the possibility of transmission. We aimed to investigate the transmission after deceased donor transplantation with bloodstream infection (BSI). @*Methods@#A retrospective study of patients undergoing kidney or pancreas transplantation at five tertiary centers in Korea from January 2009 and November 2019 was performed. We analyzed the outcomes after transplantation from deceased donors with BSI. @*Results@#Eighty-six recipients received transplantation from 69 donors with BSI. The most common isolated pathogens from donors were Gram-positive bacteria (72.0%), followed by Gram-negative bacteria (22.7%), and fungi (5.3%). Appropriate antimicrobial agents were used in 47.8% of donors before transplantation. Transmission occurred only in 1 of 83 recipients (1.2%) from bacteremic donors and 1 of 6 recipients (16.7%) from fungemic donors. One-year patient and graft survival was 97.5%and 96.3%, respectively. There was no significant difference in graft and patient survival between patients who received organs from infected donors and noninfected donors. @*Conclusion@#Using organs from donors with bacteremia seems to be a safe option with low transmission risk. The overall prognosis of using organs from donors with BSI is favorable.

Percutaneous Thrombectomy with a Half-Deployed Stent for the Treatment of Acute Inferior Vena Cava Thrombosis

Inferior vena cava (IVC) thrombosis, a type of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), is a relatively rare and poorly known disease compared to lower extremity DVT. We present a case of a 68-year-old woman with abdominal pain and mild lower leg swelling due to IVC thrombosis extending from the common iliac vein to the infrahepatic IVC. The thrombus was removed using a 14-mm Niti-S stent (Taewoong Medical, Korea) inserted via the right internal jugular vein. The stent was partially deployed and gently advanced to cover the thrombus, and then retracted through a vascular sheath capturing the thrombus. This case presents a therapeutic approach for the treatment of IVC thrombosis using a half-deployed stent as a filter and a basket. Follow-up evaluation after 5 years revealed a patent IVC and common iliac vein.

Thrombosis of a Long-Segment Aneurysm from the Iliac to Popliteal Artery Associated with Arteriovenous Malformation and Varicose Veins

A 58-year-old male patient with severe claudication due to thrombosis of the left ilio-femoro-popliteal artery aneurysm. He also had a venous stasis ulcer with a history of multiple embolotherapy of arteriovenous malformation. Duplex sonography revealed reflux and varicose veins of the left great saphenous vein (GSV). A sequential bypass surgery was performed that consisted of excision of the left external iliac and common femoral artery aneurysm, external iliac to deep femoral interposition with an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene graft, and femoro-posterior tibial artery bypass with the reversed left GSV. Symptoms of claudication were alleviated and the chronic ulcer was healed in time. To our knowledge, this is the first report of successful bypass in a patient with arterial aneurysm, arteriovenous malformation, and venous insufficiency that can be diagnosed as an atypical case of Parkes Weber syndrome. Long-term follow-up is needed to define the fate of aneurysms and varicose vein graft.

Initial Experience and Potential Advantages of AFX2 Bifurcated Endograft System: Comparative Case Series

PURPOSE: The AFX2 endograft is a unibody, bifurcated stent graft that can be used to lower complications in certain patients. In this study, we retrospectively reviewed consecutive cases in which the AFX2 system was used to overcome the challenges of narrow distal aorta, as well as to reduce procedure time and contrast medium dose. Furthermore, we compared the results with matched patients treated using the Endurant II endograft system.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective observational study of nine patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) who underwent endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) using the AFX2 device between June 2017 and April 2018 at Seoul National University Hospital. The patients had narrow distal aorta (n=3), reversed tapered neck (n=1), iliac artery aneurysm (n=2), chronic kidney disease patients (n=2), and impending rupture (n=1). Seven matched patients were treated using the Endurant II graft.RESULTS: In the AFX2 group, the mean procedure time was 87.2 minutes, mean blood loss volume was 157.7 mL, and mean volume of contrast medium used was 48.3 mL. In the Endurant II group, the mean procedure time was 140.0 minutes, mean blood loss volume was 175.0 mL, and mean volume of contrast medium used was 119.3 mL.CONCLUSION: Our preliminary experiences with selected AAA patients treated using the AFX2 endovascular repair system showed good outcomes compared with similar patients treated using the Endurant II system. Therefore, the AFX2 may be a good option to perform EVAR in patients of advanced age who have chronic kidney failure or narrow distal aorta.

Hybrid Surgery to Treat Multiple Visceral Aneurysms Secondary to Polyarteritis Nodosa

A 57-year-old woman presented to vascular surgery clinic with visceral artery aneurysms that were incidentally detected during regular check-up. Imaging studies revealed occlusion of the celiac axis and severe stenosis of the superior mesenteric artery and 3 aneurysms along the posterior and inferior pancreaticoduodenal arteries, as well as the right gastroepiploic artery. Endovascular embolization of all aneurysms was rejected because of the risk of hepatic ischemia. These complicated lesion caused by polyarteritis nodosa were successfully treated using a hybrid operation with coil embolization, aneurysm resection, and antegrade aorto-celiac-superior mesentery artery bypass.

Actual Conversion Rate from Total Mastectomy to Breast Conservation after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Stages II–III Breast Cancer Patients

PURPOSE: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) is a treatment modality that increases the breast-conserving rate in breast cancer. This prospective study was performed to evaluate the actual breast-conserving rate using NCT in a clinical setting in a single institution. METHODS: Between 2014 and 2015, 265 patients who were scheduled to receive NCT and surgery were enrolled in this study. Patients were classified into three groups based on the immunohistochemical results of estrogen receptor (ER)/progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2): ER or PR positive (luminal), ER/PR negative and HER2 positive (HER2+), and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Before starting and immediately after completing NCT, a surgeon decided if breast-conserving surgery (BCS) or total mastectomy (TM) should be performed. We analyzed the rate of type of surgery performed. RESULTS: Before administering NCT, 107 patients (40.4%) and 158 patients (59.6%) were candidates for BCS and TM, respectively. Of the 158 patients, 61 were eligible for BCS after chemotherapy, with a conversion rate of 38.6%. NCT increased the BCS eligible rate from 40.4% to 62.6%. Of the 61 patients, 53 chose to undergo BCS, and BCS was successful in 46 (86.8%). Of the 107 BCS candidates at baseline, 100 patents finally underwent BCS (93.5%). According to the subtype, the conversion rates were 35.4%, 50.0%, and 40.5% for luminal, HER2+, and TNBC groups, respectively. CONCLUSION: NCT increased the eligibility for BCS from 40.4% to 62.6% in a clinical setting. This benefit is similar to that observed in other clinical trials.