Follow-up compliance after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in Medicare beneficiaries.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Lifelong imaging follow-up is essential to the safe and appropriate management of patients who undergo endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR). We sought to evaluate the rate of compliance with imaging follow-up after EVAR and to identify factors associated with being lost to imaging follow-up.

Methods

We identified a 20% sample of continuously enrolled Medicare beneficiaries who underwent EVAR between 2001 and 2008. Using data through 2010 from Medicare Inpatient, Outpatient, and Carrier files, we identified all abdominal imaging studies that may have been performed for EVAR follow-up. Patients were considered lost to annual imaging follow-up if they did not undergo any abdominal imaging study within their last 2 years of follow-up. Multivariable mode

SUBMITTER: Schanzer A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4276501 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature