Peripheral Vascular Surgery Society
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Peripheral Vascular Surgery Society |
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1. QUALITY OF LIFE IN SURVIVORS OF RUPTURED ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSM REPAIR.
Louis Palerme, MD,
Andrew B. Hill, MD, Tim Brandys, MD, Ronald Lewis, MD, and Oren K.
Steinmetz, MD
Ottawa Hospital and McGill University Health Center, Ottawa and
Montreal, Canada
Paper sponsored by York Hsiang, MD.
Purpose: To determine how the quality of life (QOL) in survivors of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (RAA) compares to a matched control group surviving elective repair (EAA).
Methods: Sixty-nine survivors of RAA were matched to 183 survivors of EAA for age at operation, length of follow-up, preoperative creatinine and gender. Following patient contact, patient QOL was assessed in each patient with the Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36). Categorical and continuous variables were compared using Fisher's Exact and Student's t-test. SF-36 scores were compared between EAA and RAA with ANOVA and Norm-based scoring techniques.
Results: There were 195 RAA during the 6-year study period: 47.7% survived to discharge from hospital. We were able to follow-up 96% of all RAA patients. Of the RAA patients still alive at follow-up, 88% were able to complete the SF-36. Matching variables were similar (p<0.05) for RAA and EAA respectively: mean age 71 yr. vs. 70.9 yr., mean length of follow-up 38.1 months vs. 33.5 months, mean preoperative creatinine 110.0 vs. 103.4 umol/l and male gender 81% vs. 86%. SF-36 scores are summarized below for : physical function (PF), role physical (RP), bodily pain (BP), general health (GH), vitality (VT), social functioning (SF), role emotional (RE), mental health (MH), physical health summary (PHS), mental health summary (MHS). There was no significant difference between RAA and EAA scores for any SF-36 domain and all scores for both groups were within 1 standard deviation of population mean norms.
Conclusion: Survivors of RAA enjoy a QOL similar to that of patients following EAA. Both patient group QOL scores compare well to population mean scores.
Last Updated 5/28/99