Unclear Reason of Recurrent Graft Infections after Aortobifemoral Reconstruction (original) (raw)
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The Netherlands Journal of Medicine
Objectives: Evaluation of the prevalence, diagnostic procedures and clinical outcome of infections of aortoiliac and aortofemoral vascular grafts presented in our centre. Design: Retrospective study. Materials: All patients who underwent a surgical aortoiliac or aortofemoral revascularisation between 1991 and 2001. Methods: Evaluation of several hospital databases. Results: 32 cases of aortoiliac and aortofemoral vascular graft infection with varied clinical presentation were found. Enteral bleeding was the first clinical manifestation in 31% of the cases, inguinal swelling, wound, or fistula in 59% and fever or sepsis in 6.3%. In 3% the cause was unknown. The vast majority (84.5%) of the infections presented three or more months after surgery (late infections). In cases of enteral bleeding, endoscopy procedures only revealed the diagnosis in 55%. Diagnostic algorithms including an abdominal CT scan appeared to have a sensitivity of 94% for establishing an accurate diagnosis. Remarkably, no specific risk factors for graft infection could be demonstrated. Furthermore, a 30-day survival of 20% or less was observed in early graft infections, whereas late infections managed with extra-anatomical bypasses appeared to have a better survival rate of up to 70%. Conclusion: Endoscopy in cases of enteral bleeding and CT scanning overall were shown to be very useful for establishing the diagnosis. Clinical outcome and survival after treatment remain poor.
Journal of Vascular Surgery, 2003
Background: Total graft excision with in situ or extra-anatomic revascularization is considered mandatory to treat infection involving the body of aortic grafts. We present a series of nine patients with this complication and such severe comorbid medical illnesses or markedly hostile abdomens that traditional treatments were precluded. In these patients selective complete or partial graft preservation was used. Methods: Over the past 20 years we have treated nine infected infrarenal aortic prosthetic grafts with complete or partial graft preservation, because excision of the graft body was not feasible. In all nine patients infection of the main body of the aortic graft was documented at computed tomography or surgery. Essential adjuncts included percutaneous or operative drain placement into retroperitoneal abscess cavities and along the graft, with instillation of antibiotics three times daily, repeated debridement of infected groin wounds, and intravenous antibiotic therapy for at least 6 weeks. Results: One patient with purulent groin drainage treated with complete graft preservation died of sepsis. One patient with groin infection treated with complete graft preservation initially did well, but ultimately required total graft excision 5 months later, after clinical improvement. In four patients complete graft preservation was successful; two patients required excision of an occluded infected limb of the graft; and one patient underwent subtotal graft excision, leaving a graft remnant on the aorta, and axillopopliteal bypass. In summary, seven of nine patients survived hospitalization after complete or partial graft preservation; amputation was avoided in all but one patient; and no recurrent infection developed over mean follow-up of 7.6 years (range, 2-15 years). Conclusions: Although contrary to conventional concepts, partial or complete graft preservation combined with aggressive drainage and groin wound debridement is an acceptable option for treatment of infection involving an entire aortic graft in selected patients with prohibitive risks for total graft excision. This treatment may be compatible with long-term survival and protracted absence of signs or symptoms of infection.
Surgical management of infected abdominal aortic grafts: Review of a 25-year experience
Journal of Vascular Surgery, 1986
Eighty-four patients with infected abdominal aortic grafts managed from 1961 through February 1985 were reviewed. Thirty-three patients had associated aortoenteric fistula formation. Twenty-eight infections (33%) and 13 aortoenteric fistulas (39%) originated at The Cleveland Clinic, yielding an incidence of aortic graft infection a,f 0.77% (28 of 3652 grafts) and aortoenteric fistula formation of 0.36% (13 of 3652: grafts) at this center. Staphylococcus organisms alone or in combination with other organisms were isolated from 34% of the series. Management consisted of graft removal and extra-anatomic bypass in 54 patients (64%), graft removal alone in 14 (17%) patients, partial graft removal and extra-anatomic bypass in seven (8%) patients, and miscellaneous operations in nine (11%) patients. Twenty-three patients (27%) required major amputations, nine of which were bilateral. Life-table analysis yielded 30-day and l-year survival rates of 72% and 42%, respectively. Thirty-day survival of the aortoenteric fist&a subset (49%) was less than that (86%) of the nonaortoenteric fistula subset (p = 0.003). One-year survival of patients treated since 1980 (54%) was superior to that of patients treated before 1980 (31%, p = 0.035). No difference in operative or l-year survival was demonstrated between the group treated with extra-anatomic bypass and subsequent graft removal and another in which both procedures were performed simuhane:ously, although the staged group experienced substantially fewer (p = 0.04) amputations (7%) than the combined group (41%). (J VASC SURG 1986; 3:725-31.) Since the initial experience with abdominal aortic reconstruction more than 30 years ago, many advances have been made in the management of patients who require this procedure. Despite dramatic improvements in antibiotic prophylaxis, synthetic graft materials, and surgical treatment, infection in an abdominal aortic prosthesis remains one of the most serious complications in vascular surgery. Formnately, its incidence is low, approximating 2% in most reported series.'-4 Although it is a rare event, aortic graft infection still is associated with mortality rates ranging from 25% to 75% and with morbidity in the form of amputation in approximately 30% of patients in whom it does occur.'-' Because of the low incidence of graft sepsis in general, most published series of patients have been small and many include patients with infected arterial prostheses that do not involve the aorta. Consequently, it has been difficult to draw statistically valid From the Department of Vascular Surgery, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
European journal of vascular and endovascular surgery : the official journal of the European Society for Vascular Surgery, 2016
The management of aortic graft infection (AGI) is highly complex and in the absence of a universally accepted case definition and evidence-based guidelines, clinical approaches and outcomes vary widely. The objective was to define precise criteria for diagnosing AGI. A process of expert review and consensus, involving formal collaboration between vascular surgeons, infection specialists, and radiologists from several English National Health Service hospital Trusts with large vascular services (Management of Aortic Graft Infection Collaboration [MAGIC]), produced the definition. Diagnostic criteria from three categories were classified as major or minor. It is proposed that AGI should be suspected if a single major criterion or two or more minor criteria from different categories are present. AGI is diagnosed if there is one major plus any criterion (major or minor) from another category. (i) Clinical/surgical major criteria comprise intraoperative identification of pus around a graf...
Operative strategies in aortic graft infections: is complete graft excision always necessary?
Annals of vascular surgery, 2005
The classic approach to aortic graft infections involves complete excision of the graft material with remote reconstruction of the distal circulation. Certain patients may not be well suited for this approach for physiologic or anatomic reasons. This study was undertaken to determine the outcome of partial graft excision in selected patients with aortic graft infection who were not felt to be candidates for complete graft excision. Retrospective analysis of 30 consecutive patients treated with infected grafts arising from the aorta over the past 10 years was performed. Mean interval between graft placement and infection was 5.5 years. Complete graft excision with bypass via clean tissue planes was achieved in 15 patients (group A), and partial or complete graft salvage or in situ graft replacement was performed at the discretion of the surgeon in 15 patients (group B). Perioperative mortality occurred in eight subjects (27%), including six in group A (40%) and two in group B (13%; p = NS). Six patients (20%) developed recurrent infection following graft excision, two (13%) in group A and four (27%) in group B (p = NS).
Treatment of Aortic Graft Infection in the Endovascular Era
Current Infectious Disease Reports, 2017
Purpose of Review This review provides an overview of the current literature surrounding the medical and surgical treatment of aortic graft infection with particular focus on the role of endovascular aortic grafts in the changing demographics and management of these infections. Recent Findings Definitive therapy for aortic graft infection continues to include parenteral antibiotics and surgical explantation and revascularization procedures, which are historically vast operations and sources of significant operative stress. Surgical management has evolved to include more options for infection resistant in situ conduits, attempts at partial explantations, and use of endovascular therapy to temporize the urgent sequelae of these infections, such as aortoenteric fistula. Summary Aortic graft infection continues to be a significant and morbid complication of graft placement even with the advent of endovascular therapy, and its treatment will only increase in difficulty as a more frail population has gained access to complex aortic repair. In the future, more flexible revascularization and partial explantation options are keys, along with long-term suppressive antibiotics where appropriate.
European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, 1997
Objectives-In a retrospective non-randomised study we assessed the outcome after in situ replacement of infected knitted Dacron abdominal aortic grafts in patients without septicaemia or retroperitoneal abscesses. We also assessed whether the specific bacterial infection influenced outcome. Materials and methods: Over the 5 years studied, 18 patients (9 with perigraft infection and 9 with aortoenteric erosion) underwent in situ replacement of aortofemoral grafts. All patients were haemodynamically stable, none required emergency treatment. Preoperative assessment included CT, MRI, leukocyte-labelled scintigraphy, and bacterial cultures whenever possible. Infected grafts were totally excised and replaced in situ with standard PTFE prostheses. Bacterial diagnosis included intraoperative Gram-staining and postoperative graft cultures. None of the patients had retroperitoneal collections or proximal anastomotic dehiscence. All patients had 6 week intravenous antibiotic therapy. Results: One patient died of myocardial infarction, and another of haemorrhagic shock from proximal anastomotic dehiscence, accounting for a graft-related mortality of 6%. Dehiscence resulted from a polymicrobial infection. Mean 37 month surveillance showed no amputations and no graft-related infections. Conclusions: In clinically and bacteriologically selected patients, total in situ replacement of infected abdominal aortic grafts offers an excellent outcome.
Reinfection after resection and revascularization of infected infrarenal abdominal aortic grafts
Journal of vascular surgery, 2014
Despite advances in perioperative care, long-term and amputation-free survival rates are poor after resection of infected abdominal aortic grafts. We reviewed our cases to determine the rate of reinfection and risk factors for mortality and limb loss. We reviewed cases with infrarenal aortic graft infection from 1999 to 2013. Cases requiring graft excision were included for analysis. Thoracic and thoracoabdominal aortic grafts were excluded. Reconstruction types included both extra-anatomic and in situ grafts. Patient comorbidities, surgical outcomes, and known reinfection rates were assessed. Univariate and Kaplan-Meier analysis were performed. Twenty-eight patients had resection of infected infrarenal abdominal aortic grafts during the study period. Most patients (26/28; 93%) had infected aortoiliac or aortofemoral prosthetic bypass grafts, but two of 28 patients had infected endovascular aortoiliac stent grafts. The median age was 69 years (range, 46-86 years), with 68% men and 3...
Circulation, 2016
Background The use of synthetic material for reconstructive vascular surgery was first reported during the early 1950s. Infection involving vascular graft prostheses is an infrequent but devastating complication of reconstructive vascular graft surgery and is associated with a high morbidity and, in some situations, mortality. Improvements in surgical techniques and graft design, including the use of native venous or arterial tissue, have reduced the frequency of infection and severity of complications from vascular graft infection (VGI). However, these advances have also led to more frequent vascular graft procedures occurring in a patient population with multiple underlying comorbidities that would have previously disqualified them as candidates for vascular reconstructive surgery. Underlying comorbidities, such as diabetes mellitus or immune compromise, increase the risk of infection and serious infection-related complications. The major complications of VGI include sepsis, amputation, disruption of infected anastomotic suture line with rupture or pseudoaneurysm formation, embolization of infected thrombi, reinfection of reconstructed vascular grafts, enteric fistulae to the small or large bowel, bacteremic spread of infection to other sites, and death. VGIs can be categorized broadly into those that occur in an extracavitary location, primarily in the groin or lower extremities, or in an intracavitary location, primarily within the abdomen or less commonly within the thorax. frequency The frequency of VGI depends on the anatomic location of the graft. The infection rate is 1.5% to 2% for most extracavitary grafts and as high as 6% with vascular grafts in the groin. 1-9 For intracavitary grafts, the infection rate is ≈1% to 5%. 1-6 Graft infection is most common after emergency procedures and after reoperation. 1-4,10 Aortic graft erosion or fistulous communication into the duodenum or other areas of the bowel reportedly occurs in 1% to 2% of patients after aortic reconstruction. 11,12 Microbiology The microbiological cause of VGI has evolved over the years. 1 In early published studies, Staphylococcus aureus was the predominant microorganism recovered. 1,13 Improvements in surgical technique, administration of prophylactic antistaphylococcal antimicrobial therapy, and other factors have resulted in a changing microbiological epidemiology. Vascular graft surgery performed on patients with multiple underlying comorbidities and the increased frequency of emergency procedures have contributed to the changing spectrum of infection. Other factors such as changes in hospital flora, surgery in patients with complicated vascular anatomy, and multiple revisions of previous vascular surgery have resulted in a more diverse microbio
Graft infection after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair
Journal of Vascular Surgery, 2011
Introduction: Although the natural history and management of infected open abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair is well described, only sporadic case reports have described the fate of patients with infected endografts placed in the abdominal aorta. The present study describes a tertiary referral center's experience with infected endovascular aneurysm repairs (EVARs). Methods: The medical records of 1302 open and endovascular aortic procedures were queried from January 2000 to January 2010. The cases were reviewed for prior aortic procedures, prosthetic implants, and etiology of current open procedure. Demographics, operative details, and perioperative courses were documented. Results: Nine patients (1 woman) with a mean age of 71 years had an EVAR that later required an open procedure for explantation and surgical revision for suspected infection. All grafts were explanted through a midline transperitoneal approach, with a mean time to explant of 33 months. The explanted endografts included 4 Zenith (Cook, Bloomington, Ind), 2 Ancure (Endovascular Technologies, Menlo Park, Calif), 2 Excluders (Gore, Flagstaff, Ariz), and 1 AneuRx (Medtronic, Minneapolis, Minn). Eight of the nine original EVARs were performed at other hospitals; 1 patient had EVAR and open explant at the University of Michigan. All patients had preoperative computed tomography scans, except one who was transferred in extremis with a gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Three patients also had a tagged leukocyte scan, and two had magnetic resonance imaging to further reinforce the suspicion of infection before explantation and bypass planning. Rifampin-soaked Hemashield (Boston Scientific) in situ grafts were used in four patients, with extra-anatomic (axillary-bifemoral) bypass used in the other five. The in situ group had no positive preoperative or postoperative cultures, with the exception of the unstable patient who died the day of surgery. For the other five patients, positive tissue cultures were found for Bacteroides, Escherichia coli, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Candida. Three patients were found to have aortic-enteric fistula, two of whom died before discharge from the hospital. The remaining seven survived to discharge. Average length of stay was 22 days, with a median follow-up of 11 months. Conclusion: This series of infected EVARs is the largest group of infected AAA endografts reported to date. Because EVAR of AAAs is presently the most common method of repair, development of endograft infection, while rare, can be managed with acceptable mortality rates. Patients presenting with aortic-enteric fistula after EVAR appear to have a more virulent course.