Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jul;72(7):1154-1159.
doi: 10.1002/art.41233. Epub 2020 Jun 5.

Comparison of Aortitis Versus Noninflammatory Aortic Aneurysms Among Patients Who Undergo Open Aortic Aneurysm Repair

Laarni Quimson  1 , Adam Mayer  2 , Sarah Capponi  2 , Bryan Rea  3 , Rennie L Rhee  1
Affiliations

Comparison of Aortitis Versus Noninflammatory Aortic Aneurysms Among Patients Who Undergo Open Aortic Aneurysm Repair

Laarni Quimson et al. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2020 Jul.

Abstract

Objective: Distinguishing aortitis-induced aneurysms from noninflammatory aortic aneurysms is difficult and often incidentally diagnosed on histologic examination after surgical repair. This study was undertaken to examine surgically diagnosed aortitis and identify patient characteristics and imaging findings associated with the disease.

Methods: In this case-control study, cases had newly diagnosed, biopsy-proven noninfectious aortitis after open thoracic aortic aneurysm surgical repair. Five controls were matched with cases for year of surgery and lacked significant inflammation on surgical pathology analysis. Data on comorbidities, demographic characteristics, and laboratory and imaging abnormalities prior to surgery were collected. Associations between exposures and outcomes were evaluated using conditional logistic regression. Backward stepwise logistic regression was used to determine factors independently associated with aortitis. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95%confidence intervals (95%CIs) were calculated.

Results: The study included 262 patients (43 patients with aortitis and 219 controls). Patients with aortitis were older at the time of surgery, predominantly female, and less likely to have a history of coronary artery disease (CAD). Multivariable analysis revealed that aortitis was independently associated with an older age at the time of surgery (OR 1.08 [95%CI 1.03-1.13], P < 0.01), female sex (OR 2.36 [95%CI 1.01-5.51], P = 0.04), absence of CAD (OR 6.92 [95%CI 2.14-22.34], P = 0.04), a larger aneurysm diameter (OR 1.74 [95%CI 1.02-2.98], P = 0.04), and arterial wall thickening on imaging (OR 56.93 [95%CI 4.31-752.33], P < 0.01).

Conclusion: Among patients who undergo open surgical repair of an aortic aneurysm, elderly women with no history of CAD who have evidence of other aortic or arterial wall thickening on imaging are more likely to have histologic evidence of aortitis. Patients with these characteristics may benefit from further rheumatologic evaluation.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Gornik HL, Creager MA. Aortitis. Circulation 2008;117:3039-51.
    1. Hiratzka LF, Bakris GL, Beckman JA, Bersin RM, Carr VF, Casey DE Jr, et al. 2010 ACCF/AHA/AATS/ACR/ASA/SCA/SCAI/SIR/STS/SVM guidelines for the diagnosis and management of patients with thoracic aortic disease: executive summary-a report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines, American Association for Thoracic Surgery, American College of Radiology, American Stroke Association, Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, Society of Interventional Radiology, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and Society for Vascular Medicine. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv 2010;76:E43-86.
    1. Fields CE, Bower TC, Cooper LT, Hoskin T, Noel AA, Panneton JM, et al. Takayasu's arteritis: operative results and influence of disease activity. J Vasc Surg 2006;43:64-71.
    1. Ladich E, Yahagi K, Romero ME, Virmani R. Vascular diseases: aortitis, aortic aneurysms, and vascular calcification. Cardiovasc Pathol 2016;25:432-41.
    1. Rojo-Leyva F, Ratliff NB, Cosgrove DM III, Hoffman GS. Study of 52 patients with idiopathic aortitis from a cohort of 1,204 surgical cases. Arthritis Rheum 2000;43:901-7.

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources