(RxWiki News) Women and men have differences in their anatomy. Sometimes these differences can determine what kind of aneurysm treatment they get.
Aortic aneurysms are a swelling of the aorta, which is the lifeline of the body. If the aorta ruptures, it can cause death if not treated immediately. Abdominal aortic aneurysms are the most common and occur near the kidney.
Endovascular repair for aneurysms is a less invasive procedure than open repair of the aorta. Prior research has suggested that women have poorer outcomes with endovascular repair. This was thought to be due to differences in their anatomy.
A recent study suggested women and men have similar outcomes after having endovascular repair. The actual procedure was more difficult with women due to their different anatomy. However, women and men had similar successes in completion of the repair.
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Luc Dubois, MD, Division of Vascular Surgery, London Health Sciences Centre and Western University in Ontario, Canada and colleagues led the study to determine gender differences after endovascular repair of aneurysms.
The study enrolled 1,262 patients, 131 of which were women. Overall, men are more likely to have aneurysms, which accounts for the smaller group of women. All of the patients received the endovascular repair procedure. Survival rates were calculated at 30 days and at 1 year after the repair.
The researchers found no differences in the survival rate for women versus men. At 30 days post repair, women had a 100 percent survival rate and men had a 98.6 percent rate. Survival rates were similar between genders at 1 year post-repair. Women had a 92.5 percent rate of survival, while men had 91.6 percent survival rate.
There were also no differences between women and men for negative health events or leaks from the repair. Authors commented that longer studies are needed to determine if outcomes change over time.
The authors noted several limitations in their study. It reports only short-term outcomes. It lacked the ability of a matched comparison study to measure differences between genders. It also relied on data reported from treating surgeons and may include some bias.
This study was published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery. The authors disclosed that two of the co-authors worked for Medtronic - the company that makes the endovascular stints used in this study.
