ELATE
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluation of Local Anesthesia in the endovascular repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms: a Target trial and Economic evaluation (ELATE)
IRAS ID
356753
Contact name
Patrick Bidulka
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Sometimes an important blood vessel in the abdomen swells and bursts, causing severe bleeding which will cause death if untreated. Even after the blood vessel is repaired by surgeons, we know that 30-40% of patients die within one year. This condition is called a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). A treatment called endovascular repair (EVAR) is available, where a tube, called a stent, is placed in the swollen blood vessel to ease blood flow. The stent is inserted through a small opening made by a surgeon in the groin, avoiding major surgery. EVAR can be performed with the patient awake by numbing the area in the groin (local anaesthesia) or with patients asleep (general anaesthesia). Whether a patient receives local or general anaesthesia for the surgery currently depends on the preferences of the specialist surgical centre. This is because there is no clear evidence as to which type of anaesthesia is better for this surgery. This project will attempt to answer whether using local anaesthesia for EVAR for a ruptured AAA is more effective and less costly than using general anaesthesia. We will work out whether certain groups of patients may benefit from local anaesthesia, such as women and those classed as high-risk before their operation, using statistical techniques which reduce the risk of producing incorrect conclusions. We will then provide recommendations about which people should have local or general anaesthetic.
To do this, we will use de-identified information recorded as part of patients’ care in the NHS. This data includes information on all operations relevant to this study in England. This study will use older existing data and will not compromise current patient care during the study conduct.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/EM/0263
Date of REC Opinion
22 Jan 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion