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Objective: Surgical site infection (SSI) is an important complication of lower extremity bypass (LEB) and the rate of SSI after LEB varies widely in the existing literature, ranging from 4% to 31%. Prolonged length of stay (LOS) has been implicated in the occurrence of SSI across multiple surgical disciplines. The impact of preoperative LOS in patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) undergoing LEB is unknown. We examined the association of preoperative LOS on SSI after LEB., Methods: A retrospective analysis of the Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative Infrainguinal Bypass Registry identified patients undergoing elective LEB for chronic limb-threatening ischemia from 2003 to 2019. Patients undergoing LEB for acute limb ischemia, urgent/emergent procedures, aneurysm, or who had concomitant suprainguinal bypass were excluded. The primary outcome measure was postoperative SSI. Multivariable forward stepwise logistic regression was then performed including all variables with a P value of less than .10 in both matched and unmatched cohorts to evaluate for demographic and perioperative predictors of SSI. Propensity score matching was used to create matched cohorts of patients for each LOS group., Results: A total of 17,883 LEB procedures were selected for inclusion: 0 days (12,362 LEB), 1 to 2 days (1737 LEB), and 3 to 14 days (3784 LEB). Patients with the greatest preoperative LOS were more likely to have vein mapping (0 days preoperative LOS, 66.3%; 1-2 days, 65.2%; 3-14 days, 73.2%; P < .01) or computed tomography angiography/magnetic resonance angiography (0 days, 32.1%; 1-2 days, 34.4%; 3-14 days, 38.4%; P < .01). Patients with 3 or more days of preoperative LOS had longer procedure lengths (0 days, 244 minutes; 1-2 days, 243 minutes; 3-14 days, 255 minutes; P < .01) and were more likely to have completion angiogram (0 days, 27.1%; 1-2 days, 29.5%; 3-14 days, 31.6%; P = .02). Multivariable logistic regression demonstrated that preoperative LOS of 3 to 14 days was associated with increased rate of SSI (odds ratio [OR], 1.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20-3.07; P = .01). Transfusion of 3 or more units (OR, 2.87; 95% CI, 1.89-4.36; P < .01) and prolonged procedure length (>220 minutes; OR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.26-2.73; P < .01) were also significantly associated with postoperative SSIs., Conclusions: Many factors including preoperative comorbidities and operative complexity covary with preoperative LOS as risk factors for SSI. However, when patients are matched based on comorbidities and factors that would predict overall clinical complexity, preoperative LOS remains important in predicting SSI., (Copyright © 2020 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Prior studies have evaluated the effects of statin and antiplatelet agent (APA) medications on patients with peripheral arterial disease. Although the benefits of statin and APA use are well-described, there is a paucity of research into the specific outcomes of patients who are not compliant or those who are unable to take the medication owing to intolerance. Here we examine the outcomes of patients intolerant to statin and APA and compare them with patients who are compliant or noncompliant with these therapies., Methods: Patients treated from 2005 to 2018 in the Vascular Quality Initiative registry were included. Patients with missing data or deaths within 30 days of procedure were removed. Patients were considered noncompliant if they were previously prescribed a medication at discharge but were not taking it at 1-year follow-up or if the patient was reported to be noncompliant in the registry. Medication intolerance was defined if listed as "no, for medical reasons," and mortality data were ascertained using the Social Security Death Index, which is regularly cross-referenced to the Vascular Quality Initiative registry., Results: We identified 105,628 patients who met our inclusion criteria. Statin intolerance was noted in 2.3% at discharge and 2.1% at the 1-year follow-up, with 0.7% listed as intolerant at all stages. Factors associated with increased risk of intolerance to statins included female gender (P = .001), discharge APA intolerance (P = .004), insurance status (non-U.S. insurance) (P < .001), discharge APA noncompliance (P = .019), and discharge angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor noncompliance (P = .005). Patients who were compliant with statins showed a 91% survival at 5 years vs 87% survival in noncompliant patients and 87% in intolerant patients at 5 years (P < .001). Patients with statin intolerance have a similar survival curve as noncompliant patients across all registry cohorts. Noncompliance with statins was correlated with noncompliance with APA medications (R = 0.16, P < .001). Factors associated with increased risk of statin noncompliance included preoperative ambulatory status (requiring assistance) (P = .039), female sex (P < .001), peripheral vascular intervention (P < .001) or infrainguinal open bypass procedure surgery (P = .001), discharge status (to nursing home) (P = .006) and insurance (self-pay) (P < .001)., Conclusions: Patients not taking statin and APA medications have a substantially decreased 5-year survival irrespective of the reason for not taking. Importantly, patients noted to be intolerant have a similar survival curve as noncompliant patients across all registry cohorts. Intolerant patients may benefit from attempts to alter statin dose, type (hydrophilic vs lipophilic), or from newer agents such as PCSK9 inhibitors., (Copyright © 2019 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)