Study cohort
This is a multicenter, retrospective, observational cohort study that includes three academic tertiary referral hospitals. Checklist of items followed the STROBE statement.13 Clinical data were collected prospectively at each center and entered a merged database, which was analysed retrospectively. For this study, patients of interest were those treated with single stage CVS and CEA between March 1st, 2000, and March 30th, 2020. Data entry was managed by physicians involved in patient care. Information collected included demographics, co-morbidities, presenting symptoms, carotid artery characteristics, the type of concomitant cardiac (coronary artery bypass surgery, valve surgery or their combination) intervention, as well as postoperative events (cerebrovascular events, death, complications, reintervention) within 30 days. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. For this type of study consent for publication is not required by the local Institutional Review Board, accordingly to our National Policy in the matter of Privacy Act on retrospective analysis of anonymized data.