title: The ARCH Projects: design and rationale (IAASSG 001).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A number of factors limit the effectiveness of current aortic arch studies in assessing optimal neuroprotection strategies, including insufficient patient numbers, heterogenous definitions of clinical variables, multiple technical strategies, inadequate reporting of surgical outcomes and a lack of collaborative effort. We have formed an international coalition of centres to provide more robust investigations into this topic.
  
  
  METHODS
  High-volume aortic arch centres were identified from the literature and contacted for recruitment. A Research Steering Committee of expert arch surgeons was convened to oversee the direction of the research.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The International Aortic Arch Surgery Study Group has been formed by 41 arch surgeons from 10 countries to better evaluate patient outcomes after aortic arch surgery. Several projects, including the establishment of a multi-institutional retrospective database, randomized controlled trials and a prospectively collected database, are currently underway.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Such a collaborative effort will herald a turning point in the surgical management of aortic arch pathologies and will provide better powered analyses to assess the impact of varying surgical techniques on mortality and morbidity, identify predictors for neurological and operative risk, formulate and validate risk predictor models and review long-term survival outcomes and quality-of-life after arch surgery.
authors.affiliation: The Collaborative Research (CORE) Group, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Tristan D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Scott A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: LeMaire
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Misfeld
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Elefteriades
authors.forename: Edward P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: G Chad
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: Teruhisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kazui
authors.forename: Randall B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Griepp
authors.forename: Nicholas T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Kouchoukos
authors.forename: Paul G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Bannon
authors.forename: Malcolm J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Underwood
authors.forename: Friedrich-Wilhelm
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Mohr
authors.forename: Aung
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oo
authors.forename: Thoralf M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Sundt
authors.forename: Joseph E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Bavaria
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Di Bartolomeo
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Eusanio
authors.forename: Eric E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Roselli
authors.forename: Friedhelm
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Beyersdorf
authors.forename: Thierry P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Carrel
authors.forename: Joel S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Corvera
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Della Corte
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ehrlich
authors.forename: Andras
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jakob
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Matalanis
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Numata
authors.forename: Himanshu J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pochettino
authors.forename: Hazim J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Safi
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Estrera
authors.forename: Konstantinos G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Perreas
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sinatra
authors.forename: Santi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Trimarchi
authors.forename: Li-Zhong
authors.initials: LZ
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tabata
authors.forename: Chunsheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Haverich
authors.forename: Malakh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shrestha
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okita
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Coselli
mesh_terms: D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000601:surgery*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D050792:Circulatory Arrest, Deep Hypothermia Induced; D016208:Databases, Factual; D006801:Humans; D012042:Registries; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Aortic arch surgery; Cerebral protection; Database