Endovascular Versus Open Surgical Intervention in Patients with Takayasu's Arteritis: A Meta-analysis

Objective/Background: Although medical treatment has advanced, surgical treatment is needed to control symptoms of Takayasu's arteritis (TA), such as angina, stroke, hypertension, or claudication. Endovascular or open surgical intervention is performed; however, there are few comparative studies on these methods. This meta-analysis and systematic review aimed to examine the outcome of surgical treatment of TA. Methods: A meta-analysis comparing outcomes of endovascular and open surgical intervention was performed using MEDLINE and Embase. This meta-analysis included only observational studies, and the evidence level was low to moderate. Data were pooled and analysed using a fixed or random effects model with the I² statistic. Results: The included studies involved a total of 770 patients and 1363 lesions, with 389 patients treated endovascularly and 420 treated by surgical revascularization. Restenosis was more common with endovascular than open surgical intervention (odds ratio [OR] 5.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.78–9.62; p <.001). In subgroup analysis according to the involved lesions, endovascular intervention patients showed more restenosis than open surgical intervention patients in the coronary artery, supra-aortic branches, and renal artery. In both the active and inactive stages, restenosis was more common in those treated endovascularly than in those treated by open surgery. However, stroke occurred less often with endovascular intervention than with open surgical intervention (OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.12–0.90; p =.003). Mortality and complications other than stroke and mortality did not differ between endovascular and open surgical intervention. Conclusion: This meta-analysis has shown a lower risk of restenosis with open surgical intervention than with endovascular intervention. Stroke was generally more common with open surgical intervention than with endovascular intervention. However, there were differences according to the location of the lesion, and the risk of stroke in open surgery is higher when the supra-aortic branches are involved rather than the renal arteries.