Association between Race and Perioperative Outcomes after Carotid Endarterectomy for Asymptomatic Carotid Artery Stenosis in NSQIP

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have documented that Black patients have worse outcomes after lower extremity revascularization procedures compared with White patients. However, the association of race on carotid endarterectomy (CEA) outcomes is not well described. The aim of this study was to compare perioperative outcomes of CEA for Black vs White patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis. STUDY DESIGN: All patients who underwent CEA for asymptomatic carotid stenosis in the ACS-NSQIP targeted vascular database (2011-2019) were included. Perioperative (30-day) outcomes were compared for Black vs White patients using multivariable logistic regression adjusting for age/sex, comorbidities, and disease characteristics. RESULTS: Of 16,764 asymptomatic CEA patients, 95.2% (N = 15,960) were White and 4.8% (N = 804) were Black. Black patients were slightly younger (mean age 71.4 ± 0.1 vs 69.9 ± 0.3 years, P < 0.001) and more frequently had high-grade carotid artery stenosis compared to White patients (79.5% vs 74.0%, p = 0.001). Comorbidities including hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease were all more prevalent among Black patients (p ≤ 0.01). Crude perioperative stroke (2.4% vs 1.3%, p = 0.007) and stroke/death (2.6% vs 1.4%, p = 0.003) were higher for Black patients, but myocardial infarction (1.7% vs 1.5%, p = 0.67) and death (0.4% vs 0.2%, p = 0.12) were similar. After adjusting for baseline differences between groups, the risk of perioperative stroke (odds ratio 1.66, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.73) and stroke/death (odds ratio 1.75, 95% CI 1.10 to 2.81) remained significantly higher for Black patients compared with White patients. CONCLUSIONS: Black patients undergoing CEA for asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis had more severe stenosis, more comorbidities, and worse perioperative outcomes compared to White patients. Overall, our data suggest substantial differences in the treatment and outcomes of asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis based on race.