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Iliofemoral Calcification Differences Between Male And Female Patients And Relationship To Arterial Area
Amy Liu, BS1, MacKenzie Z. Lee, MD2, Bernadette Aulivola, MD, RVT3, Lorela Weise, MD4, Samantha Swamy, BS1, Carlos F. Bechara, MD3, Lindsey M. Korepta, MD3.
1Cardinal Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, USA, 2Loyola University of Chicago General Surgery Residency, Maywood, IL, USA, 3Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, USA, 4Loyola University of Chicago Vascular Surgery Residency, Maywood, IL, USA.

Introduction/objectives: Vascular calcification is a well-known risk factor for adverse cardiovascular events. Males have been shown to have higher rates of calcification in their coronary arteries, but there is a lack of data regarding rates of calcification in iliofemoral vessels. We set out to quantify differences in arterial size and calcification levels between sexes to eventually investigate this in PAD.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 108 male and 108 female BMI-matched patients with computed tomography (CT) angiograms. CT scans were scored for abdominal aorta (AA), common iliac (CIA), and common femoral (CFA) outer diameters and divided into quartiles. Calcification levels at the CIA and CFA were categorized as none, mild, moderate, or severe. Abdominal aortic aneurysms and iliac aneurysms were excluded from analysis. Differences in calcification variables across quartiles were assessed using the Fisher’s exact test based on Monte Carlo simulation.
Results: As vessel area increased, calcification decreased, with more patients with severe or moderate calcification in the first two quartiles and more patients with no or mild calcification in the last two quartiles (Table 1,2) Further, males had greater rates of CFA calcification than females (p=0.002), though CIA calcification did not differ between the sexes (p=0.425).
Conclusions: Males have significantly higher rates of calcification in the iliac artery, but not in the common femoral artery and the degree of calcification correlates inversely to outer vessel diameter. Using this information, we hope to further correlate differences in CIA and CFA calcification with differences in PAD clinical presentation and treatment outcome between males and females to help establish sex-specific therapeutic regimens.


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