Aortic Dissection after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Acute Coronary Syndrome: An Outcomes-Based Study from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample Database

Introduction: Aortic dissection is a rare complication of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) for Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS), but is associated with mortality rates of up to 20%. This study assessed the demographic and clinical profile of a large cohort of patients undergoing PCI for ACS to assess patient and clinical risk factors that may predispose to the development of aortic dissection. Methods: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database (2001-2011) was used to abstract admission data on patients undergoing PCI for ACS. Results: 777,595 patients underwent PCI and 380 (0.05%) developed aortic dissection. Patients who developed aortic dissection were more often older (68 vs. 64 years), female (47.4% vs. 33.8%), insured through Medicare (56.2% vs. 50.7%), Medicaid (7.9% vs. 5.3%) or uninsured/self-pay (6.3% vs. 4.7%), p < 0.05. Patients with aortic dissection had a higher rate of ventricular fibrillation (6.3% vs. 1.8%), cerebrovascular accident (2.4% vs. 0.4%), longer lengths of hospitalization (9 days vs. 3 days), as well as higher mortality (13.2% vs. 1.4%), p < 0.001. Multivariate analysis identified female gender, Hispanic race, uninsured/self-pay, fluid and electrolyte disorders, and peripheral vascular disease (PVD) as independent risk factors for aortic dissection after PCI. Conclusion: Aortic dissection is a rare complication of PCI, which occurs more often in older patients with Medicare insurance status. Hispanics, females, uninsured patients and those with PVD are at the highest risk of aortic dissection. Clinicians should be more cognizant of patients at increased risk of developing PCI in order to institute earlier screening in high-risk patients.