Postoperative disability and one-year outcomes for patients suffering a stroke after carotid endarterectomy

Although post-carotid endarterectomy (CEA) strokes are rare, they can be devastating. The degree of disability that patients develop after such events and its effects on long-term outcomes are unclear. Our goal was to assess the extent of postoperative disability in patients suffering strokes after CEA and evaluate its association with long-term outcomes.

The Vascular Quality Initiative CEA registry (2016-2020) was queried for CEAs performed for asymptomatic or symptomatic indications in patients with preoperative modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores of 0 to 1. The mRS grades stroke-related disability as 0 (none), 1 (not significant), 2 to 3 (moderate), 4 to 5 (severe), and 6 (dead). Patients suffering postoperative strokes with recorded mRS scores were included. Postoperative stroke-related disability based on mRS and its association with long-term outcomes were analyzed.

Among 149,285 patients undergoing CEA, there were 1178 patients without preoperative disability who had postoperative strokes and reported mRS scores. Mean age was 71 ± 9.2 years, and 59.6% of patients were male. Regarding ipsilateral cortical symptoms within 6 months preoperatively, 83.5% of patients were asymptomatic, 7.3% had transient ischemic attacks, and 9.2% had strokes. Postoperative stroke-related disability was classified as mRS 0 (11.6%), 1 (19.5%), 2 to 3 (29.4%), 4 to 5 (31.5%), and 6 (8%). One-year survival stratified by postoperative stroke-related disability was 91.4% for mRS 0, 95.6% for mRS 1, 92.1% for mRS 2 to 3, and 81.5% for mRS 4 to 5 (P < .001). Multivariable analysis demonstrated that while severe postoperative disability was associated with increased death at 1 year (hazard ratio [HR], 2.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5-5.89; P = .002), moderate postoperative disability had no such association (HR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.45-2; P = .88). One-year freedom from subsequent ipsilateral neurological events or death stratified by postoperative stroke-related disability was 87.8% for mRS 0, 93.3% for mRS 1, 88.5% for mRS 2 to 3, and 77.9% for mRS 4 to 5 (P < .001). Severe postoperative disability was independently associated with increased ipsilateral neurological events or death at 1 year (HR, 2.34; 95% CI, 1.25-4.38; P = .01). However, moderate postoperative disability exhibited no such association (HR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.46-1.82; P = .8).

The majority of patients without preoperative disability who suffered strokes after CEA developed significant disability. Severe stroke-related disability was associated with higher 1-year mortality and subsequent neurological events. These data can improve informed consent for CEA and guide prognostication after postoperative strokes.