Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Short-term and Mid-term Outcomes After Use of t-Branch Off-the-shelf Multibranched Endograft for Elective and Urgent Treatment of Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysms.

OBJECTIVE

To conduct a meta-analysis to assess the safety and efficacy of t-Branch off-the-shelf multibranched endograft for the treatment of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA).

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science.

REVIEW METHODS

Online databases were searched from June 2012 to March 2023. The data were pooled together using a random-effects model of proportions. The outcomes overall included technical success, spinal cord ischemia, target vessel occlusion, type I or III endoleak, reintervention, early mortality (30-day), and mid-term outcomes. Subgroup meta-analyses and meta-regression were performed to explore variation among studies.

RESULTS

A total of 15 studies containing 1238 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The overall study quality assessment was found to be moderate to good. The pooled technical success was 97.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]=95.5-98.6, =53.01%, 1185/1238 cases, 15 studies). Overall, early mortality was 7.3% (95% CI=4.4-10.1, =74.48%, 124/1238 cases, 15 studies). Early spinal cord ischemia was 13.4% (95% CI=9.6-17.2, 67.24%, 160/1238 cases, 15 studies), and early type I or III endoleak was 6.0% (95% CI=3.4-8.5, =53.71%, 68/1032 cases, 9 studies). Mid-term outcomes showed target vessel occlusion was 4% (95% CI=1.4-6.5, =65.18%, 28/528 cases, 10 studies, 5-21.2 months), type I or III endoleak was 4.7% (95% CI=2-7.5, =49.74%, 38/512 cases, 10 studies, 5-21.2 months), reintervention was 11.2% (95% CI=8.1-14.3, =31.06%, 85/650 cases, 10 studies, 5-21.2 months), and pooled mortality was 13.9% (95% CI=7.2-20.7, 76.32%, 84/550 cases, 11 studies, 5-21.2 months). Meta-regression found a significant linear association between higher technical success and earlier publication year (p=0.014) and studies with anatomic inclusion criteria (p=0.037). Urgent patients (p=0.021) and later publication year (p=0.048) were significantly associated with higher early mortality.

CONCLUSION

The use of the off-the-shelf t-Branch multibranched endograft for elective or urgent endovascular TAAA repair is associated with high technical success rates and proved to be safe and effective at early and mid-term follow-up. However, the heterogeneity between the included studies is high, and prospective, randomized studies along with future larger studies with long-term follow-up are needed.

CLINICAL IMPACT

The Zenith t-Branch (Cook Medical, Bloomington, Ind) was approved as a commercially available device in Europe in June 2012. Although a decade has past, the outcomes of t-Branch have rarely been synthesized at the global level. This meta-analysis included 15 studies containing 1238 patients. The meta-analyses included technical success, major adverse events, reintervention, early mortality, and mid-term outcomes. The outcome was very meaningful and representative for the use of t-Branch. It is helpful for endovascular surgeons to make decisions on the treatment of TAAA patients.