Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Short-term and Mid-term Outcomes After Use of t-Branch Off-the-shelf Multibranched Endograft for Elective and Urgent Treatment of Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Objective: To conduct a meta-analysis to assess the safety and efficacy of t-Branch off-the-shelf multibranched endograft for the treatment of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA). Data Sources: PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. Review Methods: Online databases were searched from June 2012 to March 2023. The data were pooled together using a random-effects model of proportions. The outcomes overall included technical success, spinal cord ischemia, target vessel occlusion, type I or III endoleak, reintervention, early mortality (30-day), and mid-term outcomes. Subgroup meta-analyses and meta-regression were performed to explore variation among studies. Results: A total of 15 studies containing 1238 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The overall study quality assessment was found to be moderate to good. The pooled technical success was 97.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]=95.5–98.6, I 2 =53.01%, 1185/1238 cases, 15 studies). Overall, early mortality was 7.3% (95% CI=4.4–10.1, I 2 =74.48%, 124/1238 cases, 15 studies). Early spinal cord ischemia was 13.4% (95% CI=9.6–17.2, I 2 =67.24%, 160/1238 cases, 15 studies), and early type I or III endoleak was 6.0% (95% CI=3.4–8.5, I 2 =53.71%, 68/1032 cases, 9 studies). Mid-term outcomes showed target vessel occlusion was 4% (95% CI=1.4–6.5, I 2 =65.18%, 28/528 cases, 10 studies, 5–21.2 months), type I or III endoleak was 4.7% (95% CI=2–7.5, I 2 =49.74%, 38/512 cases, 10 studies, 5-21.2 months), reintervention was 11.2% (95% CI=8.1–14.3, I 2 =31.06%, 85/650 cases, 10 studies, 5–21.2 months), and pooled mortality was 13.9% (95% CI=7.2–20.7, I 2 =76.32%, 84/550 cases, 11 studies, 5–21.2 months). Meta-regression found a significant linear association between higher technical success and earlier publication year (p=0.014) and studies with anatomic inclusion criteria (p=0.037). Urgent patients (p=0.021) and later publication year (p=0.048) were significantly associated with higher early mortality. Conclusion: The use of the off-the-shelf t-Branch multibranched endograft for elective or urgent endovascular TAAA repair is associated with high technical success rates and proved to be safe and effective at early and mid-term follow-up. However, the heterogeneity between the included studies is high, and prospective, randomized studies along with future larger studies with long-term follow-up are needed. Clinical Impact The Zenith t-Branch (Cook Medical, Bloomington, Ind) was approved as a commercially available device in Europe in June 2012. Although a decade has past, the outcomes of t-Branch have rarely been synthesized at the global level. This meta-analysis included 15 studies containing 1238 patients. The meta-analyses included technical success, major adverse events, reintervention, early mortality, and mid-term outcomes. The outcome was very meaningful and representative for the use of t-Branch. It is helpful for endovascular surgeons to make decisions on the treatment of TAAA patients.