Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Because mycotic aneurysm is a rare infection, the effectiveness of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) and thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) for mycotic aneurysm is difficult to evaluate. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study comparing EVAR/TEVAR and surgical repair (SR), using both Cox proportional regression analysis and Bayesian inference for patients with mycotic aneurysm diagnosed between January 2008 and December 2015. RESULTS: A total of 38 patients with mycotic aneurysm were included in the study. Eight patients (21%) received EVAR/TEVAR and the remaining 30 (79%) underwent surgery (SR). The median duration of survival (or follow up) for the EVAR/TEVAR group was 916 days (range 66-2053 days), whereas the median duration for the SR group was 1550 days (range 1-4825 days). The hazard ratio using the Cox proportional hazards model showed a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.25 (95% confidence interval 0.82-6.17, p = 0.11).The posterior probability density of each treatment group was derived by the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method and the calculated HR was 1.68, with 95% credible interval 0.68-4.35. DISCUSSION: Although the post-operative life expectancy tended to be longer following SR, EVAR/TEVAR could be an option when SR is not feasible.