New Approaches to Assessment and Management of Tricuspid Regurgitation Before Intervention

Prospective Quantification of Tricuspid Regurgitation With Echocardiography vs 4D Flow Cardiac Magnetic Resonance

BACKGROUND

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is a valuable tool in the assessment of valvular disease. However, its utilization in tricuspid regurgitation (TR) evaluation has been limited.

OBJECTIVES

The authors sought to compare TR grading with 4D-CMR and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE).

METHODS

We prospectively recruited patients with ≥ moderate TR on TTE to undergo multiparametric CMR with integrated cardiac function and 4D flow assessments using a 1.5-T scanner (Siemens Somatom Aera). Patients with other severe valvulopathy, end-stage renal disease, or pacemakers were excluded. TR was graded severe on CMR when TR volume ≥45 mL and/or TR fraction ≥50%. The weighted kappa test was used to assess the agreement in overall TR grading on TTE and CMR.

RESULTS

Fifty-two patients were enrolled (mean age 78.5 ± 7.6 years, 53.8% men). The median interval between CMR and TTE was 2 days (Q1-Q3: 1-37 days). The agreement between TTE and CMR-derived TR volume was fair (kappa = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.13-0.45), with only 10 of 31 patients (32%) with ≥ severe TR on TTE meeting severe TR volume criterion on CMR (TR volume ≥45 mL). There was no agreement between TTE and CMR-derived TR fraction (kappa = 0.04, 95% CI: 0.13-0.46), with only 3 of 31 patients (13%) with ≥ severe TR on TTE meeting severe TR criterion on CMR (TR fraction ≥50%).

CONCLUSIONS

Grading of TR was frequently discordant between TTE and 4D magnetic resonance imaging. Further studies are needed to elucidate the clinical impact of concordant/discordant TR grading on multimodality imaging.

Assessment of the GLIDE Score for Prediction of Mild Tricuspid Regurgitation following Tricuspid Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Repair

BACKGROUND

The GLIDE Score is an anatomical scoring system designed to predict moderate residual tricuspid regurgitation (TR) immediately following transcatheter tricuspid edge-to-edge repair (T-TEER).

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the GLIDE Score's predictive capability for achieving a postprocedural TR grade of mild or better.

METHODS

This retrospective analysis included 336 patients from a multicenter registry who underwent T-TEER between January 2017 and November 2022. Anatomical features were assessed using transesophageal echocardiography to calculate the GLIDE Score, which ranges from 0 to 5. The primary endpoint was a postprocedural TR grade of mild or better, assessed via periprocedural imaging. Outcomes were compared between patients with GLIDE Scores of 0 to 1 and those with scores ≥2 using logistic regression and ROC curve analysis.

RESULTS

Median age was 81 years, with no significant differences in BMI, EuroScore II, or NYHA Class across GLIDE Score cohorts. The GLIDE Score ≥2 cohort had a larger median RV basal diameter (48 mm vs 45 mm, P < 0.001) and more torrential TR cases (35.9% vs 3.1%, P < 0.001). Postprocedural mild TR was achieved in 74.7% of patients with a GLIDE Score of 0 to 1, versus 13.4% in the ≥2 cohort (P < 0.001). Ordinal regression analysis found a strong correlation between the GLIDE Score and postprocedural TR severity (coefficient = 1.41, t = 12.92), with an AUC to predict mild TR of 0.87 (95% CI: 0.83-0.90).

CONCLUSIONS

The GLIDE Score is a valuable tool for predicting postprocedural TR severity in T-TEER patients, guiding patient selection and refining treatment strategies.

Robustness of tricuspid regurgitation reduction at 1 year following edge-to-edge repair for primary tricuspid regurgitation

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Within recent years, transcatheter tricuspid edge-to-edge repair (T-TEER) has emerged as a safe and effective treatment option in patients with secondary tricuspid regurgitation (TR). However, for primary TR, data on the robustness and durability of TR reduction 1 year following T-TEER is limited.

METHODS

All consecutive patients treated with T-TEER for TR at two high-volume centers between September 2018 and December 2022 were enrolled in a registry. Primary TR was defined as tricuspid valve (TV) prolapse or flail TV leaflets as assessed by pre- and peri-interventional transesophageal echocardiography (TEE).

RESULTS

201 patients were included in this analysis, of whom 27 (13.4%) were classified as primary TR and 174 (86.6%) as TR of secondary origin. All-cause mortality during 1-year follow-up was reached by 50 patients (24.9%) [primary: 7 (25.9%), secondary: 43 (24.7%)], and 151 (75.1%) completed follow-up with transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). Patients' median age was 80 (76-83) years, 112 (55.7%) were female and 181 (90.1%) reported a New-York heart association functional class (NYHA-FC) of III or IV. The remaining baseline clinical and echocardiographic parameters were comparable between the groups, but secondary TR patients had a significantly higher TRI-SCORE (5 (4-8) vs. 7 (5-14), P = 0.010). In both groups, an immediate reduction of TR-Grade post-intervention was observed. This reduction was sustained at follow-up with 80.0% of the primary TR patients classified as moderate or less and 61.8% of the secondary TR patients. This translated to a significant improvement of NHYA-FC in both groups. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed no differences regarding rates for all-cause mortality between the groups (P < 0.99).

CONCLUSION

T-TEER achieves a robust TR reduction in primary TR patients 1 year after intervention with noninferior clinical results to treatment for secondary TR with regards to mortality, re-hospitalization, and NYHA-FC.

Bibliometric analysis of imaging and treatment strategies for severe tricuspid regurgitation from 2015 to 2023

Background

Severe tricuspid regurgitation is a progressive disease with an unfavourable prognosis. In recent years there have been extraordinary gains in knowledge through both clinical and basic scientific work. We performed a bibliometric analysis on tricuspid regurgitation with a focus on imaging techniques and treatment approaches and to identify scientific milestones and emerging research trends.

Methods

Publications, published between 2015 and 2023 were identified. Study characteristics, impact factors and countries of origin studies were recorded. Heat maps were created to visualise data and to identify leading centers. Most frequently cited publications were recognised as milestones.

Results

We screened 3,519 studies. 368 studies were included, of which 326 were clinical studies. Clinical studies were further subdivided into interventional (n = 138), surgical (n = 115) or studies on imaging modalities (n = 74). We detected an enormous increase in scientific output worldwide, especially in imaging and interventional studies. The United States, Germany and Poland were identified as leading countries in imaging, interventions and preclinical studies respectively.

Conclusions

Our study reflects the global gain in knowledge over the last 9 years. We were able to identify an annually rising number of interventional studies. Imaging studies have also seen a rapid increase, especially since 2020. In recent years, we monitored a decline in surgical studies.

Novel interventions on the tricuspid valve: how to consider the pulmonary circulation?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This review addresses treatment options for moderate to severe tricuspid valve regurgitation and the importance of right ventricular function and the pulmonary circulation.

RECENT FINDINGS

Several interventional treatment options for severe tricuspid regurgitation have been developed including transcatheter edge-to-edge repair, annuloplasty and valve replacement. So far, transcatheter edge-to-edge repair is most frequently used with procedural success rates of more than 95% and improvements in functional and quality of life parameters for up to 2 years. Right ventricular function as well as pulmonary artery pressure and resistance levels are important outcome predictors. Mean pulmonary artery pressure more than 30 mmHg, transpulmonary gradient more than 17 mmHg and right ventricular to pulmonary artery coupling ratio less than 0.406 indicate poor outcome.

SUMMARY

Despite the remarkable safety of interventional treatment of severe tricuspid regurgitation right ventricular dysfunction and abnormal pulmonary hemodynamics are important determinants of procedural success and clinical outcome.Complete hemodynamic work-up should be an integral part of prerepair assessment although validated data predicting outcome are limited.

Time to assess more than prognosis: advancements and challenges in transcatheter tricuspid valve interventions

We provide an overview about the current landscape of transcatheter tricuspid valve interventions (TTVI) and summarize recent findings from trials including TRILUMINATE, TRILUMINATE Pivotal, bRIGHT, TRICLASP, TRISCEND, TRISCEND II, TRICUS, and Cardioband TR EFS. These studies have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of TTVI. Yet, they have failed to show a prognostic benefit over conservative treatment. On the other hand, significant improvements in health status assessments have been observed. Assessment of right ventricular (RV) function prior to tricuspid interventions is crucial, as changes in preload and afterload may lead to RV failure which is associated with a high mortality. Therefore, this review emphasizes the impact of TTVIs on quality of life and explores the influence of RV dysfunction on therapeutic success and prognosis.