Hospital Teaching Status and Outcomes in Type B Aortic Dissection: Analysis of More Than 40,000 Patients.

Objective: To assess the association of hospital teaching status with outcomes of patients presenting with type B aortic dissection (TBAD).

Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study of the National Readmissions Database (NRD), from 2016 to 2020.

Setting: Hospitals across the United States stratified by teaching status.

Participants: TBAD patients.

Interventions: Surgical repair, thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR), and conservative medical management.

Measurements and main results: A total of 44,981 TBAD patients were included, of whom 5421 (12%) were managed at a nonteaching (NT) hospital and 39,470 (88%) were treated at a teaching (T) hospital. Propensity score matching (1:1) yielded 4676 matched pairs. In-hospital mortality (12.9% for NT vs 12.5% for T; p = 0.58) and 30-day readmission (23.3% for NT vs 21.8% for T; p = 0.12) outcomes were not statistically significantly different between the groups. On multivariable regression, teaching status was not associated with higher odds of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio [OR], 0.943; 95% confidence interval [CI, 0.841-1.057; p = 0.31) or 30-day readmission (OR, 0.965; 95% CI, 0.88-1.058; p = 0.44). At teaching hospitals, TEVAR was associated with higher odds of in-hospital mortality (OR, 1.898; 95% CI, 1.596-2.257; p < .01), while hospital volume was associated with higher odds of 30-day readmission (quartile 3: OR, 1.488; 95% CI, 1.106-2.002; quartile 4: OR, 1.684; 95% CI, 1.256-2.257; p < 0.01).

Conclusions: Hospital teaching status alone was not associated with in-hospital mortality or 30-day readmission in TBAD patients. At teaching hospitals, management by TEVAR and greater hospital volume were associated with in-hospital mortality and 30-day readmission outcome, respectively.