A systematic review and meta-analysis on early mortality after abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in females in urgent and elective settings

Objective: Females represent a group of patients with higher mortality after abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), endovascular (EVAR), or open surgical (OSR), repair. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the 30-day mortality after AAA repair in females, comparing both EVAR and OSR, in elective and urgent settings. Methods: The protocol of the review was registered to the PROSPERO database (CRD42021242686). A search of the English literature was conducted, using PubMed, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases, from inception to March 5, 2021, using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines (PRISMA). Only studies reporting on 30-day mortality of AAA repair, in urgent and elective settings, comparing EVAR and OSR, in the female population were eligible. Patients were stratified according to the need for elective or urgent repair. Symptomatic and ruptured cases were included into the urgent group. Individual studies were assessed for risk of bias using the (Risk Of Bias In Non-randomised Studies - of Interventions) ROBINS-I tool. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach was used to evaluate the quality of evidence. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality after AAA repair in the female population, comparing EVAR and OSR. The outcomes were summarized as odds ratio, along with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs), through a paired meta-analysis. Results: Eight studies reported data on 30-day mortality following AAA repair. A total of 56,982 females (22,995 EVAR vs 33,987 OSR) were included. A significantly reduced total 30-day mortality rate was recorded among females that underwent EVAR compared with OSR (odds ratio [OR], 0.25; 95% CI, 0.23-0.27; P <.001; I-2 = 86%). In addition, a reduced 30-day mortality was found in females that underwent elective EVAR compared with OSR (OR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.33-0.41; P <.001; I-2 = 48%). Despite the fact that OSR was more frequently offered in the urgent setting (OR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.19-0.23; P <.001; I-2 = 84%), EVAR was associated with a reduced 30-day mortality (OR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.40-0.57; P <.001; I-2 = 0%). Conclusions: In females, EVAR is associated with lower 30-day mortality in both elective and urgent AAA repair, although it appears as less likely to be offered in the setting of urgent AAA repair.