Routine versus selective near-infrared spectroscopy-guided shunting during carotid eversion endarterectomy

Stoyan Kondov; Dominique Bothe; Friedhelm Beyersdorf; Martin Czerny; Andreas Harloff; Jan-Steffen Pooth; Klaus Kaier; Joachim Schöllhorn; Maximilian Kreibich; Matthias Siepe; Bartosz Rylski

doi:10.1093/icvts/ivad005

Routine versus selective near-infrared spectroscopy-guided shunting during carotid eversion endarterectomy

Interdiscip Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2023 Feb 6;36(2):ivad005. doi: 10.1093/icvts/ivad005.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
² Department of Neurology and Neurophysiology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
³ Center for Medical Biometry and Informatics, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare outcomes of routine shunting to near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)-guided shunting in patients undergoing eversion endarterectomy (EEA) under general anaesthesia.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated data of all patients undergoing EEA of the internal carotid artery (ICA) in our department from January 2011 until January 2019. Included were patients with EEA of the ICA and the patients were divided into 2 groups: selective-shunting group and routine-shunting group. Patients (i) with patch angioplasty during the surgery, (ii) undergoing surgery for restenosis and (ii) stenosis after radiation therapy, (iii) without recorded regional cerebral oxygen saturation trends, (iv) presenting with an emergency treatment indication and (v) operated upon by residents were excluded. In all patients, EEA was performed in general anaesthesia and under NIRS monitoring. One-to-one propensity score matching was used to compare EEA outcomes after routine shunting to NIRS-guided shunting. Primary end points were defined as perioperative stroke and in-hospital mortality after EEA.

Results: Routine and NIRS-guided selective shunting were applied in 340 (34.0%) and 661 (66.0%) patients, respectively. A total of 277 pairs were generated via propensity score matching. Fifty-eight (20.1%) from the selective-shunting group were intraoperatively shunted. Concomitant procedures were more frequently performed in the routine-shunting group [170 (61.4%) vs 47 (17.0%), 180 (65%) vs 101 (36.5%), and 60 (21.7%) vs 6 (2.2%), P < 0.001]. The perioperative stroke rate in the routine-shunting group was higher as well [11 (4.0%) vs 3 (1.1%), P = 0.022]. In-hospital death was overall 0.2% (n = 1). Multivariable logistic regression in the matched patient indicated age (odds ratio 1.050, 95% confidence interval 1.002-1.104, P = 0.046) and routine shunting (odds ratio 2.788, confidence interval 1.119-7.428, P = 0.032) as risk factors for perioperative stroke during EEA of the ICA.

Conclusions: We found that, during EEA of the ICA, under general anaesthesia, NIRS-guided selective shunting was associated with a lower incidence of perioperative stroke than routine shunting.

Keywords: Eversion endarterectomy; Internal carotid artery; NIRS; Shunting.