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Background To review long-term outcomes and saphenous vein (SV) occlusion rate after endovenous ablation (EVA) for symptomatic varicose veins. Methods A review of our EVA database (1998–2018) with at least 3-years of clinical and sonographic follow-up. The primary end point was SV closure rate. Results 542 limbs were evaluated. 358 limbs had radiofrequency and 323 limbs had laser ablations; 542 great saphenous veins (GSV), 106 small saphenous veins (SSV) and 33 anterior accessory saphenous veins (AASV) were treated. Follow-up was 5.6 ± 2.3 years; 508 (74.6%) veins were occluded, 53 (7.8%) partially occluded and 120 (17.6%) were patent. On multivariable Cox regression analysis, male sex (HR 1.6, 95% CI [0.46–018], p = 0.012) and use anticoagulation (HR 2.0, 95% CI [0.69–0.34], p = 0.044) were predictors of long-term failure. On Kaplan-Meier curve, we had an 86.3% occlusion rate. Conclusion Our experience revealed a 5-year closure rate of 86.3%. Ablations have satisfactory occlusion rate.

Background Aortic stenosis–related mortality might vary across demographic subsets, regions, and states in the United States. Methods and Results We reviewed the death certificate data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide‐Ranging OnLine Data for Epidemiologic Research database to examine aortic stenosis–related mortality trends from 2008 to 2018. Crude and age‐adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) per 100 000 people and annual percentage change with 95% CIs were calculated. Between 2008 and 2018, AAMR reduced from 12.7 to 11.5 (average annual percentage change, −1.0 [95% CI, −1.5 to −0.5]), because of an accelerated decline between 2015 and 2018 (annual percentage change, −4.4 [95% CI, −6.0 to −2.7]). Older (aged >85 years), male, and White patients had higher death rates than younger, female, and non‐White patients, respectively. Although mortality reduction was similar across sexes, significant mortality reduction was limited to White patients only. The AAMRs were higher in rural than urban areas. States with AAMRs >90th percentile were distributed in the West and the Northeast, and <10th percentile in the South. The AAMRs for sex and race were highest in the West and lowest in the South. None of the states located in the Midwest showed a significant reduction in mortality. Mortality remained stable for hospital setting and nursing home/long‐term care facility, except that the number of deaths increased at home and hospice facility since 2014. Conclusions The reduction in mortality in patients with aortic stenosis was not consistent among demographic subsets and states. The substantial public health and economic implications call for determination of underlying clinical and socioeconomic factors to narrow the gap.

Abstract Aims To compare early de-escalation of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) (1–3 months) to monotherapy with either P2Y12 inhibitor or aspirin vs. 12 months DAPT after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stent (DES). Methods and results Electronic databases of Medline, Embase, and Cochrane library were searched through February 2020 to identify randomized controlled trials. A Bayesian network meta-analysis was conducted with random effects model. The main endpoints of interest were cardiovascular mortality and total bleeding events. Among seven trials (35 821 patients), 52.6% patients were presented with acute coronary syndrome. A total of 3359 patients and 14 530 patients were de-escalated to aspirin and P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy, respectively. At a median follow-up of 12 months, compared with 12 months of DAPT, there was no significant difference in cardiovascular mortality between 1-month DAPT followed by P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy [hazard ratio (HR) 0.84 (95% credible interval 0.29–2.43)], 3 months of DAPT followed by P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy [HR 0.74 (0.39–1.46)], or 3 months of DAPT [HR 1.00 (0.54–1.86)] followed by aspirin monotherapy. Except for de-escalation of DAPT to aspirin monotherapy after 3 months [HR 0.75 (0.43–1.20)], de-escalation to P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy after 1 month [HR 0.28 (0.10–0.83)], or 3 months [HR 0.57 (0.33–0.98)] were associated with significant decrease in total bleeding events. There were no significant differences in terms of ischaemic endpoints among different DAPT strategies. Conclusion Early de-escalation of DAPT (1–3 months) to monotherapy with a P2Y12 inhibitor instead of aspirin might be a safer and equally effective approach compared with 12 months of DAPT in patients with PCI and DES.

Purpose: To evaluate the outcomes of the Gore Excluder Iliac Branch Endoprosthesis (IBE) using division branches of the internal iliac artery (IIA) as distal landing zones. Materials and Methods: Between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2018, 74 patients (mean age 74±7 years; 72 men) treated for aortoiliac or common iliac artery aneurysms had an IBE deployed with distal landing of the side branch within the main trunk (n=60) of the internal iliac artery (IIA) vs within a division branch (n=25). Thirteen (17%) patients received bilateral IBE implantations for a total of 85 vessels evaluated. Early endpoints were technical success, 30-day mortality, 30-day major adverse events (MAEs), and 30-day major access complications. Late endpoints were survival, primary and secondary IIA patency, freedom from IIA branch instability, freedom from new-onset buttock claudication, and aneurysm sac diameter changes. Time-dependent outcomes were reported as Kaplan-Meier curves with differences assessed using the log-rank test. Estimates are presented with the 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: The overall technical success rate was 97%, with 1 technical failure per group (p=0.43). Two patients, one from each group, died within 30 days (p=0.43). No significant differences were seen in the rates of 30-day MAEs (7% vs 17%, p=0.35) or major access complications (9% vs 11%, p>0.99) for patients receiving distal landing in the main trunk vs a division branch, respectively. The mean follow-up for the entire cohort was 19±12 months. The overall 1-year survival rate was 94% (95% CI 74% to 99%). The primary and secondary patency rates at 1 year were 98% (95% CI 88% to 99%) vs 95% (95% CI 72% to 99%, p=0.72) and 98% (95% CI 88% to 99%) vs 100% (p=0.41) for the main trunk vs division branch groups, respectively. Freedom from IIA branch instability estimates were also similar at 1-year follow-up [93% (95% CI 82% to 97%) vs 90% (95% CI 66% to 97%), p=0.29], as were the freedom from new-onset buttock claudication estimates [98% (95% CI 86% to 99%) and 94% (95% CI 67% to 99%), respectively; p=0.62]. Mean sac diameter change was 5.4±5.3 mm, not significantly different between the groups (p=0.85). Conclusion: Use of the posterior or anterior division of the IIA as a distal landing zone for the Gore Excluder IBE was safe and efficacious in the midterm. This technique may permit extending indications for endovascular repair of aortoiliac aneurysms to cases with unsuitable anatomy within the IIA main trunk. Long-term assessment is needed to affirm the efficacy of this technique.

AbstractObjectivesThe aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of peripheral artery disease (PAD) and its association with in‐hospital outcomes after endovascular transcatheter aortic valve replacement (EV‐TAVR).BackgroundTAVR is an established treatment for patients at prohibitive, high, or intermediate surgical risk. PAD is a significant comorbidity in the determination of surgical risk. However, data on association of PAD with outcomes after EV‐TAVR are limited.MethodsPatients in the National Inpatient Sample who underwent EV‐TAVR between January 1, 2012 and September 30, 2015 were evaluated. The primary outcome was in‐hospital mortality.ResultsA total of 51,685 patients underwent EV‐TAVR during the study period. Of these, 12,740 (24.6%) had a coexisting diagnosis of PAD. The adjusted odds for in‐hospital mortality [OR 1.08 (95% CI 0.83–1.41)], permanent pacemaker implantation [OR 0.98 (0.85–1.14)], conversion to open aortic valve replacement [OR 1.05 (0.49–2.26)], or acute myocardial infarction [OR 1.31(0.99–1.71)] were not different in patients with versus without PAD. However, patients with PAD had greater adjusted odds of vascular complications [OR 1.80 (1.50–2.16)], major bleeding [OR 1.20 (1.09–1.34)], acute kidney injury (AKI) [OR 1.19 (1.05–1.36)], cardiac complications [aOR 1.21 (1.01–1.44)], and stroke [OR 1.39(1.10–1.75)] compared with patients without PAD. Length of stay (LOS) was significantly longer for patients with PAD [7.23 (0.14) days vs. 7.11 (0.1) days, p < 0.001].ConclusionOf patients undergoing EV‐TAVR, ~25% have coexisting PAD. PAD was not associated with increased risk of in‐hospital mortality but was associated with higher risk of vascular complications, major bleeding, AKI, stroke, cardiac complications, and longer LOS.