title: Aortic stent grafting: a new approach to a deadly diagnosis: one hospital's findings in defining new care processes.
abstract: Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is the 13th leading cause of death in the United States. Diagnosis is the key to prevention of death from AAA. Millions of Americans harbor this silent, potentially lethal aneurysm. For over 50 years, conventional open surgical repair has been performed for ruptured aortic abdominal aneurysm. It is a major operation with an extended hospital stay and recovery period. An alternative approach to AAA repair has evolved over the past 10 years that combines advances in catheter and stent technologies. With the AAA aortic stent graft, patients usually do not require intensive care and are discharged home within 48 hours of the procedure. This article describes the AAA aortic stent graft procedure, in the formation of a case management team to develop a clinical pathway and standing orders for these patients and defines the outcomes of care.
authors.affiliation: St. John Hospital and Medical Center, Detroit, Michigan, USA. heidiski@bignet.net
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kalinowski
mesh_terms: D017130:Angioplasty / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery*; D001019:Aortic Rupture / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery*; D019917:Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing; D019090:Case Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D019091:Critical Pathways / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008824:Michigan; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000458:organization & administration; D009737:Nursing Records; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000458:organization & administration; D019990:Perioperative Care / Q000451:nursing / Q000458:organization & administration; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D012307:Risk Factors; D015607:Stents; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology