Economic analysis of remote monitoring in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators or cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators in the Trento area, Italy

Introduction: Remote monitoring (RM) technologies have the potential to improve patient care by increasing compliance, providing early indications of heart failure (HF), and potentially allowing for therapy optimization to prevent HF admissions. The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the clinical and economic consequences of RM vs. standard monitoring (SM) through in-office cardiology visits, in patients carrying a cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED). Methods: Clinical and resource consumption data were extracted from the Electrophysiology Registry of the Trento Cardiology Unit, which has been systemically collecting patient information from January 2011 to February 2022. From a clinical standpoint, survival analysis was conducted, and incidence of cardiovascular (CV) related hospitalizations was measured. From an economic standpoint, direct costs of RM and SM were collected to compare the cost per treated patient over a 2-year time horizon. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to reduce the effect of confounding biases and the unbalance of patient characteristics at baseline. Results: In the enrollment period, N = 402 CIED patients met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis (N = 189 patients followed through SM; N = 213 patients followed through RM). After PSM, comparison was limited to N = 191 patients in each arm. After 2-years follow-up since CIED implantation, mortality rate for any cause was 1.6% in the RM group and 19.9% in the SM group (log-rank test, p < 0.0001). Also, a lower proportion of patients in the RM group (25.1%) were hospitalized for CV-related reasons, compared to the SM group (51.3%; p < 0.0001, two-sample test for proportions). Overall, the implementation of the RM program in the Trento territory was cost-saving in both payer and hospital perspectives. The investment required to fund RM (a fee for service in the payer perspective, and staffing costs for hospitals), was more than offset by the lower rate of hospitalizations for CV-related disease. RM adoption generated savings of −€4,771 and −€6,752 per patient in 2 years, in the payer and hospital perspective, respectively. Conclusion: RM of patients carrying CIED improves short-term (2-years) morbidity and mortality risks, compared to SM and reduces direct management costs for both hospitals and healthcare services

Autosomal Recessive Atrial Dilated Cardiomyopathy With Standstill Evolution Associated With Mutation of Natriuretic Peptide Precursor A

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Comparative one-month safety and effectiveness of five leading new-generation devices for transcatheter aortic valve implantation

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for aortic stenosis is becoming an appealing alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement in high-risk patients and to medical therapy for inoperable ones. Several new-generation TAVI devices have been recently introduced, but comparative analyses are lacking. We aimed to compare 1-month outcomes associated with such five leading new-generation TAVI devices exploiting data collected in the prospective observational RISPEVA (Registro Italiano GISE sull’impianto di Valvola Aortica Percutanea) Study. We queried the dataset of the ongoing RISPEVA study to retrieve baseline, procedural and 1-month outcome details of patients undergoing TAVI with Acurate, Evolut, Portico, Lotus, and Sapien3. Analysis was based on unadjusted and propensity score-adjusted methods. We included 1976 patients, 234 (11.8%) treated with Acurate, 703 (35.6%) with Evolut, 151 (7.6%) with Lotus, 347 (17.6%) with Portico, and 541 (27.4%) with Sapien3. Unadjusted analysis for baseline features highlighted several significant differences, and other discrepancies were found for procedural features. Despite these differences, device and procedural success were similarly high (ranging from 98.0% to 99.4%, p > 0.05). However, procedural valve migration appeared more common with Acurate (p = 0.007), and major bleeding with Sapien3 (p = 0.002). Unadjusted analysis for 1-month outcomes also highlighted significant differences in the composite of death, stroke, myocardial infarction, major vascular complication, major bleeding, or renal failure (favoring Portico, p < 0.001), major vascular complications (favoring Lotus, p < 0.001), renal failure (favoring Portico, p = 0.035), and permanent pacemaker implantation (favoring Acurate, p < 0.001). Propensity score-adjusted analyses showed lower rates of major adverse events with Evolut and Portico (p < 0.05), major vascular complications with Lotus and Portico (p < 0.05), renal failure with Sapien3 (p < 0.05) and permanent pacemaker implantation with Acurate (p < 0.05). In conclusion, new-generation TAVI devices have different profiles of early comparative safety and efficacy. These findings should be taken into account for individualized decision making and patient management

How do cardiologists select patients for dual antiplatelet therapy continuation beyond 1 year after a myocardial infarction? Insights from the EYESHOT Post-MI Study

Background: Current guidelines suggest to consider dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) continuation for longer than 12 months in selected patients with myocardial infarction (MI). Hypothesis: We sought to assess the criteria used by cardiologists in daily practice to select patients with a history of MI eligible for DAPT continuation beyond 1 year. Methods: We analyzed data from the EYESHOT Post-MI, a prospective, observational, nationwide study aimed to evaluate the management of patients presenting to cardiologists 1 to 3 years from the last MI event. Results: Out of the 1633 post-MI patients enrolled in the study between March and December 2017, 557 (34.1%) were on DAPT at the time of enrolment, and 450 (27.6%) were prescribed DAPT after cardiologist assessment. At multivariate analyses, a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with multiple stents and the presence of peripheral artery disease (PAD) resulted as independent predictors of DAPT continuation, while atrial fibrillation was the only independent predictor of DAPT interruption for patients both at the second and the third year from MI at enrolment and the time of discharge/end of the visit. Conclusions: Risk scores recommended by current guidelines for guiding decisions on DAPT duration are underused and misused in clinical practice. A PCI with multiple stents and a history of PAD resulted as the clinical variables more frequently associated with DAPT continuation beyond 1 year from the index MI