Short-stay carotid endarterectomy in a tertiary-care Veterans Administration hospital.
BACKGROUND
This study focused on 200 carotid endarterectomies (CEA) performed at our Veterans Administration Hospital (VAH) to determine whether 1-day hospitalization after CEA is safe and the degree to which it can be achieved.


METHODS
Over 36 months, 200 CEAs were performed for asymptomatic stenosis (n = 104), transient ischemic attacks (n = 68), and stroke (n = 28). General anesthesia was used in 189 procedures.


RESULTS
The hospital stay was 1 day for 132 procedures and more than 1 day in 68 CEAs. The average stay was 1.69 +/- 1.5 days. After surgery there were 3 strokes, 5 hematomas that required evacuation, and 5 myocardial infarctions. There were no deaths. Four patients were readmitted in the 1-day and the greater than 1-day stay groups. History of myocardial infarction, renal insufficiency, longer operative time, and complications correlated with a greater than 1-day stay (P <0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
A 1-day hospital stay is safe and practical in a VAH setting, resulting in good clinical outcomes.
Cikrit
Dolores F
DF
Department of Surgery, Section Peripheral Vascular Surgery, Indiana University Medical Center, Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Administration Hospital, 1001 W. 10th St., OPE 303, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. dcikrit@iupui.edu
Larson
Dawn M
DM
Sawchuk
Alan P
AP
Lalka
Stephen G
SG
Shafique
Shoaib
S
Dalsing
Michael C
MC
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016894:Endarterectomy, Carotid / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality; D011336:Probability; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome