Early and mid-term outcome of patients with low-flow-low-gradient aortic stenosis treated with newer-generation transcatheter aortic valves

Peer reviewe

One-Year Outcomes and Trends over Two Eras of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Real-World Practice

Background: Data reflecting the benefit of procedural improvements in real-world transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) practice are sparse. Aims: To compare outcomes and trends of two TAVI eras from real Italian practice. Methods: A total of 1811 and 2939 TAVI patients enrolled in the national, prospective OBSERVANT and OBSERVANT II studies in 2010-2012 and 2016-2018, respectively, were compared in a cohort study. Outcomes were adjusted using inverse propensity of treatment weighting and propensity score matching. Results: The median age (83.0 (79.0-86.0) vs. 83.0 (79.0-86.0)) and EuroSCORE II (5.2 (3.2-7.7) vs. 5.1 (3.1-8.1)) of OBSERVANT and OBSERVANT II patients were similar. At 1 year, patients of the OBSERVANT II study had a significantly lower risk of all-cause death (10.6% vs. 16.3%, Hazard Ratio (HR) 0.63 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.52-0.76)) and rehospitalization for heart failure (HF) (14.3% vs. 19.5%, Sub-distribution HR 0.71 (95%CI 0.60-0.84)), whereas rates of stroke (3.1% vs. 3.6%) and permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) (16.6% vs. 18.0%) were comparable between study groups. Conclusions: Age and risk profile among patients undergoing TAVI in Italy remained substantially unchanged between the 2010-2012 and 2016-2018 time periods. After adjustment, patients undergoing TAVI in the most recent era had lower risk of all-cause death and rehospitalization for HF at 1 year, whereas rates of stroke and PPI did not differ significantly.Peer reviewe

Prostate Cancer Gene 3 and Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Can Reduce Unnecessary Biopsies: Decision Curve Analysis to Evaluate Predictive Models

OBJECTIVE To overcome the well-known prostate-specific antigen limits, several new biomarkers have been proposed. Since its introduction in clinical practice, the urinary prostate cancer gene 3 (PCA3) assay has shown promising results for prostate cancer (PC) detection. Furthermore, multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mMRI) has the ability to better describe several aspects of PC. METHODS A prospective study of 171 patients with negative prostate biopsy findings and a persistent high prostate-specific antigen level was conducted to assess the role of mMRI and PCA3 in identifying PC. All patients underwent the PCA3 test and mMRI before a second transrectal ultrasoundguided prostate biopsy. The accuracy and reliability of PCA3 (3 different cutoff points) and mMRI were evaluated. Four multivariate logistic regression models were analyzed, in terms of discrimination and the cost benefit, to assess the clinical role of PCA3 and mMRI in predicting the biopsy outcome. A decision curve analysis was also plotted. RESULTS Repeated transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy identified 68 new cases (41.7%) of PC. The sensitivity and specificity of the PCA3 test and mMRI was 68% and 49% and 74% and 90%, respectively. Evaluating the regression models, the best discrimination (area under the curve 0.808) was obtained using the full model (base clinical model plus mMRI and PCA3). The decision curve analysis, to evaluate the cost/benefit ratio, showed good performance in predicting PC with the model that included mMRI and PCA3. CONCLUSION mMRI increased the accuracy and sensitivity of the PCA3 test, and the use of the full model significantly improved the cost/benefit ratio, avoiding unnecessary biopsies

High Thrombotic Risk Increases Adverse Clinical Events Up to 5 Years After Acute Myocardial Infarction. A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study

The risk of recurrent events among survivors of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is understudied. The aim of this analysis was to investigate the role of residual high thrombotic risk (HTR) as a predictor of recurrent in-hospital events after AMI. This retrospective cohort study included 186,646 patients admitted with AMI from 2009 to 2010 in all Italian hospitals who were alive 30 days after the index event. HTR was defined as at least one of the following in the 5 years preceding AMI: previous myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke/other vascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, renal failure. Risk adjustment was performed in all multivariate survival analyses. Rates of major cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) within the following 5 years were calculated in both patients without fatal readmissions at 30 days and in those free from in-hospital MACCE at 1 year from the index hospitalization. The overall 5-year risk of MACCE was higher in patients with HTR than in those without HTR, in both survivors at 30 days [hazard ratio (HR), 1.49; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.45-1.52; p<0.0001] and in those free from MACCE at 1 year (HR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.41-1.51; p<0.0001). The risk of recurrent MACCE increased in the first 18 months after AMI (HR, 1.49) and then remained stable over 5 years. The risk of MACCE after an AMI endures over 5 years in patients with HTR. This is also true for patients who did not have any new cardiovascular event in the first year after an AMI. All patients with HTR should be identified and addressed to intensive preventive care strategies

Early and mid-term outcome of patients with low-flow-low-gradient aortic stenosis treated with newer-generation transcatheter aortic valves

Patients with non-paradoxical low-flow-low-gradient (LFLG) aortic stenosis (AS) are at increased surgical risk, and thus, they may particularly benefit from transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). However, data on this issue are still limited and based on the results with older-generation transcatheter heart valves (THVs). The aim of this study was to investigate early and mid-term outcome of TAVR with newer-generation THVs in the setting of LFLG AS. Data for the present analysis were gathered from the OBSERVANT II dataset, a national Italian observational, prospective, multicenter cohort study that enrolled 2,989 consecutive AS patients who underwent TAVR at 30 Italian centers between December 2016 and September 2018, using newer-generation THVs. Overall, 420 patients with LVEF &lt;= 50% and mean aortic gradient &lt;40 mmHg were included in this analysis. The primary outcomes were 1-year all-cause mortality and a combined endpoint including all-cause mortality and hospital readmission due to congestive heart failure (CHF) at 1 year. A risk-adjusted analysis was performed to compare the outcome of LFLG AS patients treated with TAVR (n = 389) with those who underwent surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR, n = 401) from the OBSERVANT I study. Patients with LFLG AS undergoing TAVR were old (mean age, 80.8 +/- 6.7 years) and with increased operative risk (mean EuroSCORE II, 11.5 +/- 10.2%). VARC-3 device success was 83.3% with 7.6% of moderate/severe paravalvular leak. Thirty-day mortality was 3.1%. One-year all-cause mortality was 17.4%, and the composite endpoint was 34.8%. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (HR 1.78) and EuroSCORE II (HR 1.02) were independent predictors of 1-year mortality, while diabetes (HR 1.53) and class NYHA IV (HR 2.38) were independent predictors of 1-year mortality or CHF. Compared with LFLG AS treated with SAVR, TAVR patients had a higher rate of major vascular complications and permanent pacemaker, while SAVR patients underwent more frequently to blood transfusion, cardiogenic shock, AKI, and MI. However, 30-day and 1-year outcomes were similar between groups. Patients with non-paradoxical LFLG AS treated by TAVR were older and with higher surgical risk compared with SAVR patients. Notwithstanding, TAVR was safe and effective with a similar outcome to SAVR at both early and mid-term

Transcatheter and surgical aortic valve replacement in patients with left ventricular dysfunction

Peer reviewe

One-Year Outcomes after Surgical versus Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement with Newer Generation Devices

The superiority of transcatheter (TAVR) over surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) for severe aortic stenosis (AS) has not been fully demonstrated in a real-world setting. This prospective study included 5706 AS patients who underwent SAVR from 2010 to 2012 and 2989 AS patients who underwent TAVR from 2017 to 2018 from the prospective multicenter observational studies OBSERVANT I and II. Early adverse events as well as all-cause mortality, major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs), and hospital readmission due to heart failure at 1-year were investigated. Among 1008 propensity score matched pairs, TAVR was associated with significantly lower 30-day mortality (1.8 vs. 3.5%, p = 0.020), stroke (0.8 vs. 2.3%, p = 0.005), and acute kidney injury (0.6 vs. 8.2%, p &lt; 0.001) compared to SAVR. Moderate-to-severe paravalvular regurgitation (5.9 vs. 2.0%, p &lt; 0.001) and permanent pacemaker implantation (13.8 vs. 3.3%, p &lt; 0.001) were more frequent after TAVR. At 1-year, TAVR was associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality (7.9 vs. 11.5%, p = 0.006), MACCE (12.0 vs. 15.8%, p = 0.011), readmission due to heart failure (10.8 vs. 15.9%, p &lt; 0.001), and stroke (3.2 vs. 5.1%, p = 0.033) compared to SAVR. TAVR reduced 1-year mortality in the subgroups of patients aged 80 years or older (HR 0.49, 95% CI 0.33-0.71), in females (HR 0.57, 0.38-0.85), and among patients with EuroSCORE II &gt;= 4.0% (HR 0.48, 95% CI 0.32-0.71). In a real-world setting, TAVR using new-generation devices was associated with lower rates of adverse events up to 1-year follow-up compared to SAVR

Mid-term outcomes of Sapien 3 versus Perimount Magna Ease for treatment of severe aortic stenosis

BackgroundThere is limited information on the longer-term outcome after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with new-generation prostheses compared to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). The aim of this study was to compare the mid-term outcomes after TAVR with Sapien 3 and SAVR with Perimount Magna Ease bioprostheses for severe aortic stenosis.MethodsIn a retrospective study, we included patients who underwent transfemoral TAVR with Sapien 3 or SAVR with Perimount Magna Ease bioprosthesis between January 2008 and October 2017 from the nationwide FinnValve registry. Propensity score matching was performed to adjust for differences in the baseline characteristics. The Kaplan-Meir method was used to estimate late mortality.ResultsA total of 2000 patients were included (689 in the TAVR cohort and 1311 in the SAVR cohort). Propensity score matching resulted in 308 pairs (STS score, TAVR 3.52.2% vs. SAVR 3.52.8%, p=0.918). In-hospital mortality was 3.6% after SAVR and 1.3% after TAVR (p=0.092). Stroke, acute kidney injury, bleeding and atrial fibrillation were significantly more frequent after SAVR, but higher rate of vascular complications was observed after TAVR. The cumulative incidence of permanent pacemaker implantation at 4years was 13.9% in the TAVR group and 6.9% in the SAVR group (p=0.0004). At 4-years, all-cause mortality was 20.6% for SAVR and 25.9% for TAVR (p=0.910). Four-year rates of coronary revascularization, prosthetic valve endocarditis and repeat aortic valve intervention were similar between matched cohorts.Conclusions p id=Par The Sapien 3 bioprosthesis achieves comparable midterm outcomes to a surgical bioprosthesis with proven durability such as the Perimount Magna Ease. However, the Sapien 3 bioprosthesis was associated with better early outcome.Trial registration p id=Par ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03385915.Peer reviewe

Use of hierarchical models to evaluate performance of cardiac surgery centres in the Italian CABG outcome study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hierarchical modelling represents a statistical method used to analyze nested data, as those concerning patients afferent to different hospitals. Aim of this paper is to build a hierarchical regression model using data from the "Italian CABG outcome study" in order to evaluate the amount of differences in adjusted mortality rates attributable to differences between centres.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study population consists of all adult patients undergoing an isolated CABG between 2002–2004 in the 64 participating cardiac surgery centres.</p> <p>A risk adjustment model was developed using a classical single-level regression. In the multilevel approach, the variable "clinical-centre" was employed as a group-level identifier. The intraclass correlation coefficient was used to estimate the proportion of variability in mortality between groups. Group-level residuals were adopted to evaluate the effect of clinical centre on mortality and to compare hospitals performance. Spearman correlation coefficient of ranks (<it>ρ</it>) was used to compare results from classical and hierarchical model.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The study population was made of 34,310 subjects (mortality rate = 2.61%; range 0.33–7.63). The multilevel model estimated that 10.1% of total variability in mortality was explained by differences between centres. The analysis of group-level residuals highlighted 3 centres (VS 8 in the classical methodology) with estimated mortality rates lower than the mean and 11 centres (VS 7) with rates significantly higher. Results from the two methodologies were comparable (<it>ρ </it>= 0.99).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Despite known individual risk-factors were accounted for in the single-level model, the high variability explained by the variable "clinical-centre" states its importance in predicting 30-day mortality after CABG.</p