Abstract TMP19: Carotid Endarterectomy in Patients With Thrombocytopenia. Analysis of National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) Registry

Background: Carotid revascularization procedures are infrequently performed in patients with mild-moderate thrombocytopenia. However, whether such procedures are associated with a higher unknown risk of peri-procedural complications such as myocardial infarction (MI)/arrhythmia, need for blood transfusions, unplanned intubations, and death. There is no large population based study available to quantify the risk after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in patients with thrombocytopenia. Methods: We studied all patients who underwent CEA in the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program(NSQIP) Registry between years 2011 and 2013.The ACS-NSQIP prospectively collects data on over 300 variables pertaining to patient characteristics, comorbid conditions, operative details, and 30-day post-operative outcomes. Thrombocytopenia was defined based on the pre procedure platelet count of Results: Thrombocytopenia was present in 931(10.5%) of 8835 patients who underwent CEA. Their severity of thrombocytopenia was mild (100,000-149,000 platelets/μL) and moderate ( Conclusions: The higher rate of post procedural complications in patients with thrombocytopenia needs to be recognized for appropriate risk stratification.