Ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm growth is minimal at sizes that do not meet criteria for surgical repair

Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery

article

Arushi Gulati¹  Joseph Leach²  Zhongjie Wang¹  Yue Xuan²  Michael D. Hope¹  David A. Saloner²  Liang Ge¹  Elaine E. Tseng¹ 

[1] Division of Adult Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery , University of California San Francisco Medical Center and San Francisco VA Medical Center;Department of Radiology , University of California San Francisco Medical Center and San Francisco VA Medical Center

关键词: Aortic aneurysms;    type A dissection;    diameter;    growth;   

DOI  :  10.21037/qims-21-55

学科分类：外科医学

来源: AME Publications

【 摘 要 】

Background: Historic studies of nonsyndromic ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms (aTAAs) reported that the typical aTAA growth rate was approximately 0.6 mm/year, but data were limited due to relatively few studies using computed tomography (CT) imaging. Our purpose was to reevaluate the annual growth rate of nonsyndromic aTAAs that do not meet criteria for surgical repair in veterans in the contemporary era, using modern CT imaging suitable for highly accurate and reproducible aneurysm measurement. Methods: Nonsurgical patients (diameter <5.5 cm) undergoing aneurysm surveillance at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center with repeat CT imaging performed 3 to 5 years apart were identified. Maximum diameter was determined by a single radiologist using multiplanar reformat-based measurements. Average rate of aneurysm growth was evaluated based on longest available follow-up. Results: Sixty-seven patients were included. Average follow-up time was 4.06±0.83 years. Patients were exclusively male, with average age of 68.1±6.0 years, and the majority had a history of smoking (n=52, 78%), hypertension (n=52, 78%), and dyslipidemia (n=48, 72%). Average baseline aneurysm diameter was 44.0±3.2 mm and average growth rate was 0.11±0.31 mm/year, with no difference in growth rate between patients with initial diameter ≤45 vs.45 mm. Only 3 patients experienced clinically significant changes in diameter with magnitude greater than 5% of baseline. Conclusions: In this veteran population, most patients did not experience significant annual aneurysm growth over up to 5 years of follow-up, regardless of initial diameter. Thus, in the modern era, aTAAs may not grow as quickly as previously described, which will be important in determining appropriate intervals for aneurysm surveillance based upon risk-benefit ratio.

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