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Background/Objective Durability is the main concern of aortic endografting, but it is not clear to what extent trial results are applicable to "real world" patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the durability of a single model of aortic endograft in an unselected population with core lab analysis of morphological changes. Methods Computed tomography (CT) images of patients treated with Talent Unidoc (Medtronic, Santa Rosa, Calif) endografts from 2002 to 2006 in nine European centers with more than 1 year follow-up were centrally reviewed using a dedicated software with multiplanar and volume reconstructions. Images were checked for aneurysm growth ≥5 mm, neck enlargement >3 mm, graft migration ≥10 mm, endoleak, structural integrity. Morphological changes were defined clinically relevant when associated with reintervention or aneurysm-related death. Results A total of 349 patients (mean age 73.8 years, 90% males) were available for analysis; 1187 CT examinations were reviewed. Median abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) diameter was 56 mm (interquartile range [IQR] 49-62), neck length 20 mm (IQR 16-30), and neck diameter 25 mm (IQR 23-26). Mean follow-up was 25 months (range 12-60 months). During the study period, 10 late deaths (1 aneurysm-related, 0.3%) with a survival rate of 89.2% at 48 months and 33 reinterventions including 8 conversions (2.2%), 2 AAA ruptures (0.6%) and 1 (0.3%) loss of graft integrity were recorded. Cumulative reintervention rate was 6%, 8%, 13%, and 16% at 1, 2, 3, and 4 years, respectively. According to core lab analysis, 22 AAA grew, 169 were unchanged, and 158 shrunk, with a growing AAA rate of 3.1% patients/year. Five growths required reintervention, one for rupture. Forty-seven (6.5% patients/year) neck enlargements, three clinically relevant, 17 migrations (2.4% patients/year), five clinically relevant, and 70 endoleaks (9.7 % patients/year), 11 clinically relevant, were detected. Conclusion Data from this real world experience monitored with a centralized imaging review show that endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm with the latest generation of a single model of endograft is associated with low graft thrombosis and graft fatigue, and low late aneurysm rupture and related death risks. Neck enlargement although common after EVAR, is almost always without clinical consequences but a longer follow-up and prospective clinical studies are advisable to confirm the present results.

Background The minimum age to start specific immunotherapy with inhalant allergens in children has not been clearly established, and position papers discourage its use in children younger than 5 years. Objective To assess the safety of high-dose sublingual-swallow immunotherapy (SLIT) in a group of children younger than 5 years. Methods Sixty-five children (51 boys and 14 girls; age range, 38-80 months; mean ± SD age, 60 ± 10 years; median age, 60 months) were included in this observational study. They were treated with SLIT with a build-up phase of 11 days, culminating in a top dose of 300 IR (index of reactivity) and a maintenance phase of 300 IR 3 times a week. The allergens used were house dust mites in 42 patients, grass pollen in 11 patients, olive pollen in 5 patients, Parietaria pollen in 4 patients, and cypress pollen in 3 patients. All adverse reactions and changes in the treatment schedule were compared in 2 subgroups: children 38 to 60 months old and children 61 to 80 months old. Results The average cumulative dose of SLIT was 36,900 IR. Adverse reactions were observed in 11 children, none of them severe enough to require discontinuation of immunotherapy. Six reactions occurred in the 60 months or younger age group and 7 in the older than 60 months age group, with no differences between these 2 groups. Conclusion High-dose immunotherapy in children younger than 5 years does not cause more adverse reactions than in children aged 5 to 7 years. There is no reason to forbear studies on safety and efficacy of these preparations in young children.