Presentation Description
Institution: Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Waikato Hospital, Te Whatu Ora - Waikato - Waikato, Aotearoa New Zealand
Purpose:
Acute aortic syndromes (AAS) are associated with high mortality. While existing evidence suggests improved outcomes for type A AAS managed within specialised multidisciplinary aortic teams, it is unclear whether this association is also found for patients with type B AAS. This study assessed the impact of a multidisciplinary management approach on outcomes among patients with type B AAS.
Methodology:
This prospective cohort study included all consecutive adult patients aged 18 years old presenting with or referred to Waikato Hospital in Aotearoa New Zealand with type B or non-A/non-B AAS between January 2010 and December 2024. The primary outcome was mortality measured at 30-days and 1-year after presentation. Secondary outcomes included length of stay (LOS), unplanned 30-day readmission, and aortopathy panel testing. Variables were compared between patients presenting prior to (phase 1) and following the introduction of a multidisciplinary aortic team in mid-2020 (phase 2).
Results:
A total of 141 patients with type B AAS were included (phase 1, n=69; phase 2, n=72). The majority of presentations were aortic dissections (68.8%) and were uncomplicated in nature (73.0%). Baseline demographics and comorbidity profiles were similar between the two cohorts. Rates of 30-day (14.5% vs. 8.3%; p=0.38) and 1-year (26.1% vs. 12.5%; p=0.066) mortality trended towards an improvement after the introduction of a multidisciplinary aortic team. Hospital LOS (median 8 vs. 8.5 days; p=0.18) and 30-day readmission rates (17.4% vs. 6.9%; p=0.10) were not significantly different. Overall rates of genetic aortopathy testing increased significantly (10.1% vs. 44.4%; p<0.0001).
Conclusion:
This study suggests that a dedicated multidisciplinary aortic team may result in an improvement in medium-term survival among patients with type B AAS. Further work is in-progress to determine whether this survival benefit persists in the long-term and how genetic results may guide type B AAS management.
Speakers
Authors
Authors
Dr Sameer Bhat - , Dr Summer Hassan - , Dr Philip Allan - , Dr Rawiri Kapa-Hakeney - , Ms Sarah Pilkington - , Dr Zubayr Zaman - , A/Prof Manar Khashram -

