The value of a nationwide vascular registry in understanding contemporary time trends of abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.
Nationwide vascular registries offer rapid feed-back in an environment of fast new technical development, as is the case with the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Furthermore, they offer an opportunity to study non-selected, population-based data. The aim of this review was to analyze time-trends in published papers from nationwide registries on AAA-repair. In contrast to several US reports, an increased rate of intact AAA repair, associated with the introduction of endovascular repair, was reported in a recent publication based on the Swedish Vascular Registry (Swedvasc). The rate of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA) repair is stable in most reports, while some report a decreasing incidence. Most nationwide studies report a reducing mortality over time after intact AAA repair, while time trends on the mortality after ruptured AAA repair are more heterogenic.
Department of Surgical Sciences, Section of Vascular Surgery, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden. andwan@algonet.se
A
A
Wanhainen
K
K
Mani
M
M
Björck
D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D012042:Registries; D013548:Sweden