Life satisfaction in patients with and without spinal cord Ischaemia after advanced endovascular therapy for extensive aortic disease at mid-Term follow-up

Objective: Advanced endovascular aortic repair can be used to treat patients with extensive and complex aortic disease who are at risk of spinal cord ischaemia. The aim of this study was to compare whether life satisfaction differs between patients with and without spinal cord ischaemia at mid-Term follow-up. Design: Nested case-control study. Patients: Among patients undergoing advanced endovascular aortic repair between 2009 and 2012, 18 patients with spinal cord ischaemia and 33 without were interviewed at home. Methods: The Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (LiSat-11) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) were used. Results: LiSat-11 found that patients with spinal cord ischaemia were more dissatisfied with their activities of daily living than were patients without spinal cord ischaemia (p = 0.012). Both groups had similar, very low, scores in the sexual life domain; median 2.0 (interquartile range (IQR) 1.5-3.0) and 3.0 (IQR 2.0-4.0), respectively. There was no difference in SWLS between the groups. Conclusion: This study cohort of patients who underwent advanced endovascular aortic repair was rather homogenous in their rating of life satisfaction and there was little difference between mid-Term survivors who had spinal cord ischaemia and those who did not.