The Influence of Team Experience on Outcomes of Endovascular Stenting of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

AbstractObjective: to determine whether the experience of the specialist team was associated with adverse events following endovascular treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms.Methods: the EUROSTAR database is a voluntary registry of 2863 patients admitted to 93 hospitals in Europe with an abdominal aortic aneurysm treated with endovascular stenting. Mortality, rupture and the need for secondary interventions were the main outcomes.Results: in patients who underwent endovascular stenting by the most experienced specialist teams the mortality rate was 40% lower than in those treated by the least experienced teams (adjusted hazard ratio 0.60, 95% confidence interval: 0.4–1.0;p =0.05). Also patients treated by the most experienced specialist teams were 68% less likely to have adverse events necessitating a secondary intervention than those treated by the least experienced teams (adjusted hazard ratio 0.32, 95% confidence interval: 0.2–0.5; p