Abdominal Compartment Syndrome After Endovascular Repair of Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: A Single-Center Experience of Total Endovascular Care for Ruptured Abdominal Aneurysms.

Abstract

Objective: Open repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (rAAA) has been increasingly replaced by endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) in many centers. Despite being a minimally invasive procedure, EVAR is associated with a risk of abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS), which can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. This study examines the incidence and clinical manifestation of ACS in a consecutive cohort of rAAA patients treated exclusively with EVAR at Örebro University Hospital over a 12-year period.

Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. We identified 139 patients who had presented to Örebro University Hospital with rAAA between October 2009 and September 2021. Patients with isolated iliac artery, thoracic and thoracoabdominal aortic ruptures, previous aortic interventions (open or endovascular), and patients receiving palliative treatment were excluded. Patients developing ACS after rAAA were compared with those who did not develop ACS.

Results: A total of 100 patients treated using EVAR were included in this study. ACS was identified in 17 patients, and these were compared with 83 patients who did not develop ACS. Mortality at 30 days was 53% in the ACS group (9/17) and 22% in the No-ACS group (18/83, p = 0.015). Regression analysis showed that advanced age and ACS were independent risk factors for death, with ACS increasing the hazard 4-fold (HR 4.26, CI 1.99-9.10, p < 0.001) and age increasing the hazard by 6% for every year (HR 1.06, CI 1.06-1.1, p = 0.004). The use of aortic balloon occlusion was not independently associated with the development of ACS.

Conclusions: ACS is a life-threatening complication of rAAA treated using EVAR and a significant number of patients developed ACS with high mortality and complication rates. All rAAA patients treated using EVAR should be monitored closely for ACS and treatment with decompressive laparotomy should be initiated without delay.Clinical ImpactOpen repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (rAAA) has been increasingly replaced by endovascular aortic repair (EVAR). Despite being a minimally invasive procedure, EVAR is associated with a risk of abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS), which can lead to significant morbidity and mortality This article investigates abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) in a cohort of total endovascular treated rAAA in a single centre and the treatment as well as the results, and gives insight on ACS in this patient group and might contribute to better understanding how to treat them and avoid this life-threatening complication.