Predicting wound complications following lower extremity revascularization

The aim of this study was to create a simple risk score to identify factors associated with wound complications after infrainguinal revascularization.

The Veterans Affairs Surgical Quality Improvement Program national data set was queried from 2005 to 2021 to identify 22,114 patients undergoing elective open revascularization for peripheral arterial disease (claudication, rest pain, tissue loss) or peripheral aneurysm. Emergency and trauma cases were excluded. The data set was divided into a two-thirds derivation set and one-third validation set to create a risk prediction model. The primary end point was wound complication (wound dehiscence, superficial/deep wound surgical site infection). Eight independent risk factors for wound complications resulted from the model and were assigned whole number integer risk scores. Summary risk scores were collapsed into categories and defined as low (0-3 points), moderate (4-7 points), high (8-11 points), and very high (>12 points).

The wound complication rate in the derivation data set was 9.7% (n = 1428). Predictors of wound complication included age ≤73 (odds ratio [OR], 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08-1.46), body mass index ≥35 kg/m² (OR, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.68-2.36), non-Hispanic White (vs others: OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.30-1.69), diabetes (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.10-1.37), white blood cell count >9900/mm³ (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.03-1.35), absence of coronary artery disease (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.03-1.35), operative time >6 hours (OR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.05-1.37), and undergoing a femoral endarterectomy in conjunction with bypass (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.14-1.57). In both the derivation and validation sets, wound complications correlated with risk category. Among the defined categories in the derivation set, wound complication rates were 4.5% for low-risk patients, 8.5% for moderate-risk patients, 13.8% for high-risk patients, and 23.8% for very high-risk patients, with similar results for the internal validation data set. Operative indication did not independently associate with wound complications. Patients with wound complications had higher rates of reoperation and graft failure.

This risk prediction model uses easily obtainable clinical metrics that allow for informed discussion of wound complication risk for patients undergoing open infrainguinal revascularization.