Pr. Vogt et al., Cryopreserved arterial allografts in the treatment of major vascular infection: A comparison with conventional surgical techniques, J THOR SURG, 116(6), 1998, pp. 965-971
Citations number
29
Categorie Soggetti
Cardiovascular & Respiratory Systems","Cardiovascular & Hematology Research
Objective: Recent findings with cryopreserved heart valve allografts in the
treatment of infectious endocarditis suggest that the use of cryopreserved
arterial allografts may improve the outcome in patients with vascular infe
ctions. Methods: Seventy-two patients with mycotic aneurysms (n = 29) or in
fected vascular prostheses (n = 43) of the thoracic (n = 26) or abdominal a
orta (n = 46) were treated with in situ repair and extraanatomic reconstruc
tion using prosthetic material (n = 38) or implantation of a cryopreserved
arterial allograft (n = 34). Disease-related survival and survival free of
reoperation were assessed. Morbidity, cumulative lengths of intensive care,
hospitalization, antibiotic treatment, and costs were calculated per year
of follow-up. Results: The use of cryopreserved arterial allografts was sup
erior to conventional surgery in terms of disease-related survival (P = .00
8), disease-related survival free of reoperation (P = .0001), duration of i
ntensive care per year of follow-up (median 1 vs II days; range 1 to 42 vs
2 to 120 days; P = .001), hospitalization (14 vs 30 days; range 7 to 150 vs
15 to 240 days; P = .002), duration of postoperative antibiotic therapy (2
1 vs 40 days; range 21 to 90 vs 60 to 365 days; P = .002), incidence of com
plications (24 % vs 63%; P = .005), and elimination of infection (91% vs 53
%; P = .001), In addition, costs were 40% lon er in the group treated by al
lografts (P = .005), Conclusions: The use of cryopreserved arterial allogra
fts is a more effective treatment for mycotic aneurysms and infected vascul
ar prostheses than conventional surgical techniques.