Integration of palliative care consultation into the management of patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia.

OBJECTIVE: We assessed the feasibility of integrating palliative care consultation into the routine management of patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI). Additionally, we sought to describe patient-reported outcomes from the palliative care and vascular literature in patients with CLTI receiving a palliative care consultation at our institution. METHODS: This was a single-institution, prospective, observational study that aimed to assess feasibility of incorporating palliative care consultation into the management of patients admitted to our tertiary academic medical center with CLTI by looking at utilization of palliative care before and after implementation of a protocol-based palliative care referral system. A survey comprised of patient-reported outcomes from the palliative care literature was administered to patients before and after palliative consultation. Length of stay and mortality were compared between our study cohort and a historic cohort of patients admitted with CLTI. RESULTS: Over a 14-month enrollment period, 44% of patients (n = 39) with CLTI (rest pain, 36%; tissue loss, 64%) admitted to the vascular service received palliative care consultation, compared with 5% of patients (n = 4) who would have met criteria over the preceding 14 months before our protocol was instituted. The mean age was 69 years, 23% were female, 92% were white, and 49% were able to ambulate independently. Revascularization included bypass (46%), peripheral vascular intervention (23%), and femoral endarterectomy (21%). Additional procedures included minor amputation or wound debridement (26%) and major amputation (15%). No patients received medical management alone. After receiving palliative care consultation, patients reported experiencing less emotional distress than before consultation (P = .03). They also reported being less bothered by uncertainty regarding what to expect from the course of their illness (P = .002). Fewer patients reported being unsure of the purpose of their medical care after palliative care consultation (8%) vs before (18%), although this was not statistically significant (P = .10). Median length of stay was longer in the study group compared with the historic cohort (8 vs 7 days; P = .02). There was no difference in 30-day mortality (3% vs 8%; P = .42) between the study group and the historic cohort (n = 77). CONCLUSIONS: Integrating inpatient palliative care consultation into the routine management of patients with CLTI is feasible and may improve emotional domains of health-related quality of life. This study laid the foundation for future studies on longer term outcomes of patients with CLTI undergoing palliative care consultation as well as the benefit of outpatient palliative care consultation in patients with CLTI.

Endovascular repair of a cadaveric vascular allograft nonanastomotic pseudoaneurysm.

Patients who have undergone revascularization with a cryopreserved cadaveric arterial allograft (CCAA) require lifelong surveillance because of the risk of allograft failure. The reported long-term complications of these grafts include thrombosis, anastomotic pseudoaneurysm, and graft disruption. We have described a case in which a CCAA developed a nonanastomotic pseudoaneurysm at the site of a previously ligated branch vessel and was repaired using a covered stent graft. This case demonstrates that spontaneous rupture of CCAA branches is a late complication that can occur when using these grafts and that endovascular methods are an option for repair.

Successful endovascular embolization of large symptomatic congenital renal arteriovenous fistula in an octogenarian.

Congenital renal arteriovenous fistula (rAVF) is a rare and often underdiagnosed clinical condition. Here, we present a case of a large congenital rAVF in an 81-year-old woman with a right flank bruit and high-output heart failure. The rAVF was successfully treated with percutaneous endovascular coil embolization. Complications included a small right renal hematoma, mild contrast-induced nephropathy, and small right renal infarct in the lower pole. Postoperatively, the patient had complete resolution of symptoms with salvage of the kidney. She has been observed annually for 5 years with computed tomography scan and ultrasound examination.

Open surgical ligation of a symptomatic mycotic aneurysm of the peroneal artery.

A mycotic peroneal artery aneurysm (MPAA) is a rare diagnosis. We describe a case of a patient with active fungal endocarditis who developed right lower extremity pain. Imaging demonstrated that this patient had an MPAA. This was treated with open ligation of the peroneal artery, and decompression of the aneurysm sac was performed for symptom relief. Although a rare diagnosis, MPAA should be considered in patients with a history of endocarditis who present with leg pain.

Recanalization of previously thrombosed type II endoleak with aneurysm sac expansion after systemic thrombolysis.

Patients who have undergone endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) need lifelong monitoring because of the risk of aneurysm rupture secondary to delayed endoleaks. Thrombolytic therapy may expose patients with previous EVAR to the risk for development of new endoleaks. We describe a case in which a single dose of intravenous tissue plasminogen activator for acute ischemic stroke was complicated by aneurysm sac expansion secondary to a recurrent endoleak. The potential for a life-threatening complication may warrant routine imaging evaluation of the stent graft after systemic tissue plasminogen activator therapy for acute ischemic stroke in patients with previous EVAR.

Unplanned return to operating room after endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm (EVAR) is associated with increased risk of hospital readmission.

Objectives Hospital readmissions after surgical operations are considered serious events. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) consider surgical readmissions as preventable and hold hospitals responsible for them. Endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm (EVAR) has become the first line modality of treatment for suitable patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). The purpose of this study is to retrospectively review the factors associated with hospital readmission after EVAR. Methods The 2013 EVAR targeted American College of Surgeons (ACS-NSQIP) database and generalized 2013 general and vascular surgery ACS-NSQIP participant use files were used for this study. Patient, diagnosis, and procedure characteristics of patients undergoing EVAR surgery were assessed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine independent risk factors for hospital readmission within 30 days after surgery. Results A total of 2277 patients (81% males, 19% females) underwent EVAR operations in the year 2013. Indications for operations included: asymptomatic large diameter (79%), symptomatic (5.7%), rupture without hypotension (4.3%), and rupture with hypotension (2.8%). Among these patients, 178 (7.8%) were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days after surgery. About 53% of all readmissions were within two weeks after the discharge. Risk factors, associated with readmission included: body mass index (per 5-units, OR 1.23, CI 1.06-1.42, p < 0.05), days from admission to operation (per 1 day, OR 1.26, CI 1.12-1.41, p < 0.05), prior abdominal aortic surgery (OR 1.60, CI 1.10-2.31, p < 0.05), urinary tract infection (OR 5.93, CI 2.09-16.88, p < 0.05), superficial surgical site infection (OR 6.57, CI 2.53-17.09, p < 0.05), unplanned return to the operating room (OR 11.29, CI 6.29-20.28, p < 0.05), myocardial infarction (OR 11.30, CI 4.42-28.89, p < 0.05), deep venous thrombosis (OR 11.52, CI 2.89-45.86, p < 0.05 and deep incisional surgical site infection (OR 38.0, CI 2.87-373.56, p < 0.05). Risk of readmission for patients with presence of all these seven factors was 99.9%. Conclusions Readmission after EVAR is a serious occurrence. Various factors predispose a patient at a high risk for readmission. Unplanned return to operating room after EVAR is associated with a 11-fold increase in hospital readmission.

Association between gender and outcomes of lower extremity peripheral vascular interventions.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of gender with outcomes of peripheral vascular intervention (PVI) for intermittent claudication and critical limb ischemia (CLI). METHODS: We reviewed 3338 patients (1316 [39%] women) undergoing PVI for claudication (1892; 57%) or CLI (1446; 43%) in the Vascular Study Group of New England from January 2010 to June 2012. Kaplan-Meier analysis, stratified by indication, was used to assess relationships between gender and the main outcome measures of major amputation, reintervention, and survival during the first year. RESULTS: Indications for PVI included claudication (n = 719 [38%] vs n = 1173 [62%]) and CLI (n = 597 [41%] vs n = 849 [59%]) in women and men, respectively (P = .0028). Women were older (69 vs 66 mean years; P < .00001), with less diabetes (43% vs 49%; P = .01), renal insufficiency (4.6% vs 7.3%; P = .0029), coronary artery disease (28% vs 35%; P < .00001), smoking (76% vs 86%; P = .01), and statin use (60% vs 64%; P = .0058). Technical success (95% vs 94%; P = .11), vascular injury (1.3% vs 1.0%; P = .82), and distal embolization (1.6% vs 1.3%; P = .46) were similar. Higher rates of hematoma (7.1% vs 3.4%; P ≤ .0001) and access site occlusion (0.91% vs 0.24%; P = .0085) were observed in women compared with men. There were no differences in major amputation (0.6% vs 0.6%; P = .81) or mortality (2.1% vs 1.5%; P = .20) rates at 30 days between women and men. Reinterventions (surgical and percutaneous) were similar between genders for claudicants (log-rank test, P = .75) and CLI patients (log-rank test, P = .93). Major amputation rates during the first year were not different for women and men and with claudication (log-rank test, P < .55) or CLI (log-rank test, P < .23). One-year survival was not different between women and men with claudication (95% vs 96%; P = .19) or CLI (77% vs 79%; P = .35). CONCLUSIONS: Whereas we observed higher rates of access site complications including hematoma and occlusion in women, we found no other evidence for gender disparity in reinterventions, major amputation, or survival rates after PVI for patients with claudication or CLI.

The mouse frizzy (fr) and rat 'hairless' (frCR) mutations are natural variants of protease serine S1 family member 8 (Prss8).

Please cite this paper as: The mouse frizzy (fr) and rat 'hairless' (fr(CR)) mutations are natural variants of protease serine S1 family member 8 (Prss8). Experimental Dermatology 2010; 19: 527-532. Abstract: We have previously suggested (based on genetic mapping analysis) that the allelic 'fuzzy' and 'hairless' mutations in the rat are likely orthologues of the mouse frizzy mutation (fr). Here, we analysed three large intraspecific backcross panels that segregated for mouse fr to restrict this locus to a 0.6-Mb region that includes fewer than 30 genes. DNA sequencing of one of these candidates known to be expressed in skin, protease serine S1 family member 8 (Prss8), revealed a T to A transversion associated with the fr allele that would result in a valine to aspartate substitution at residue 170 in the gene product. To test whether this missense mutation might be the molecular basis of this frizzy variant, we crossed fr/fr mice with mice that carried a recessive perinatal lethal mutation in Prss8. Hybrid offspring that inherited both fr and the Prss8 null allele displayed abnormal hair and skin, showing that these two mutations are allelic, and suggesting strongly that the T to A mutation in Prss8 is responsible for the mutant frizzy phenotype. Sequence analysis of all Prss8 coding regions in the 'hairless' rat identified a 12-bp deletion in the third exon, indicating that mouse fr and the rat 'hairless' mutations are indeed orthologues. However, this analysis failed to detect any alterations to Prss8 coding sequences in the allelic 'fuzzy' rat variant.