The impact of frailty on mortality after transcatheter aortic valve replacement

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation in Uppsala University Hospital 2009-2023: outcomes and temporal trends

Background

In recent years, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has rapidly emerged as a key treatment option for aortic stenosis. TAVI has been performed at Uppsala University Hospital since 2009. Data on TAVI procedures have been collected in a nation-wide all-comer registry, the Swedish Transcatheter Cardiac Intervention Registry (SWENTRY). However, only limited analysis has been conducted on trends in short- and long-term outcomes of TAVI patients in Sweden.

Methods

This registry-based cohort study aims to evaluate outcome trends and long-term prognosis in patients who underwent TAVI in a Swedish single center between 2009 and 2023. Survival outcomes were studied using the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox Proportional Hazards models were used to adjust for differences in patient characteristics over time.

Results

In total, 1,741 TAVI procedures were performed between 2009 and 2023. Immediate procedural mortality and 1-year mortality averaged at 0.9 and 8.1%, respectively. Both procedural and long-term mortality showed a decreasing trend over time. Similar results were observed when controlling for comorbidities and age.

Conclusions

Short-term outcomes and long-term prognosis have been constantly improving for patients undergoing TAVI within this study. Similar mortality and complication trends have been observed in other registry studies. These trends may be attributed to improvements in the quality of care, and the increased use of TAVI in lower risk patients.

Enhanced rehabilitation intervention improves postoperative recovery and quality of life of patients after heart valve replacement surgery

OBJECTIVE

To explore the application value of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) for heart valve replacement surgery.

METHODS

A total of 86 patients with heart valve diseases admitted to our hospital from Jan. 2018 to Mar. 2020 were selected, and randomized into the control group (n=43) with regular nursing care and the observation group (n=43) with ERAS. The postoperative recovery, rate of adverse events, quality of life, visual analogue scale (VAS) score and nursing care satisfaction rate were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

After surgery, the time to first bowel movement and the first flatulence in the observation group were earlier than those in the control group, and the hospital stay of patients in the observation group was shorter than that in the control group. The rate of adverse events in the observation group was 4.65%, which was lower than that in the control group (18.60%). In addition, the observation group obtained higher life quality scores but lower VAS, self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating depression scale (SDS) scores than the control group, and the observation group showed lower serum levels of corticotropin and cortisol and exhibited a longer 6-minute walking distance than the control group. Moreover, the nursing care satisfaction rate of the observation group was 95.35%, which was higher than that (76.74%) of the control group (all P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

ERAS can reduce adverse events and pain for patients with heart valve replacement and improve their postoperative recovery, quality of life, and nursing care satisfaction.

Clinical Factors and Outcomes When Real-World Heart Teams Overruled STS Risk Scores in TAVR Cases

Objectives

This study was conducted to determine why heart teams recommended transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) versus surgical AVR (SAVR) for patients at low predicted risk of mortality (PROM) and describe outcomes of these cases.

Background

Historically, referral to TAVR was based predominately on the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) risk model's PROM >3%. In selected cases, heart teams had latitude to overrule these scores. The clinical reasons and outcomes for these cases are unclear.

Methods

Retrospective data were gathered for all TAVR and SAVR cases conducted by 9 hospitals between 2013 and 2017.

Results

Cases included TAVR patients with STS PROM >3% (n = 2,711) and ≤3% (n = 415) and SAVR with STS PROM ≤3% (n = 1,438). Leading reasons for recommending TAVR in the PROM ≤3% group were frailty (57%), hostile chest (22%), severe lung disease (16%), and morbid obesity (13%), and 44% of cases had multiple reasons. Most postoperative and 30-day outcomes were similar between TAVR groups, but the STS PROM ≤3% group had a one-day shorter length of stay (2.5 ± 3.4 vs. 3.5 ± 4.7 days; p ≤ 0.001) and higher one-year survival (91.6% vs. 86.0%, p=0.002). In patients with STS PROM ≤3%, 30-day mortality was higher for TAVR versus SAVR (2.0% vs. 0.6%; p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Heart teams recommended TAVR in patients with STS PROM ≤3% primarily due to frailty, hostile chest, severe lung disease, and/or morbid obesity. Similar postoperative outcomes between these patients and those with STS PROM >3% suggest that decisions to overrule STS PROM ≤3% were merited and may have reduced SAVR 30-day mortality rate.

Frailty-aware care: giving value to frailty assessment across different healthcare settings

Healthcare systems need to adapt to better serve an aging population with complex presentations. Frailty assessments are a potential means to address this heterogeneity in aging to identify individuals at increased risk for adverse health outcomes. Furthermore, frailty assessments offer an opportunity to optimize patient care in various healthcare settings. While the vast number of frailty assessment tools available can be a source of confusion for clinicians, each tool has features adaptable to the constraints and goals of different healthcare settings. This review discusses and compares barriers, facilitators, and the application of frailty assessments in primary care, the emergency department/intensive care unit and surgical care to cover a breadth of settings with different frailty assessment considerations. The implementation of frailty-aware care across healthcare settings potentiates better healthcare outcomes for older adults.

TAVR in patients with hip fracture and severe aortic stenosis: how and when?

Comorbidities are common in elderly patients with hip fracture and are associated with an increased mortality after surgery. Internal medicine/geriatric leaded multidisciplinary hip fracture teams may play a pivotal role in the clinical management of complex patients. Treatment strategy is particular relevant in patients with severe aortic stenosis that represent more than 5% of patients with hip fracture. These patients have a high in-hospital mortality and poor 1-year survival (less than 50%). Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) may be an option in selected patients; however, the choice to treat and, in the case, the timing of valve replacement in relation to hip surgery is highly dependent on clinical conditions before trauma. In this paper, three different scenario of TAVR timing after hip fracture are reported.

Antithrombotic therapy in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement: the complexity of the elderly

Along with epidemiologic transitions of the global population, the burden of aortic stenosis (AS) is rapidly increasing and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has quickly spread; indeed, it is nowadays also employed in treating patients with AS at intermediate operative risk. Nonetheless, the less invasive interventional strategy still carries relevant issues concerning post-procedural optimal antithrombotic strategy, given the current indications provided by guidelines are not completely supported by evidence-based data. Geriatric patients suffer from high bleeding and thromboembolic risks, whose balance is particularly subtle due to the presence of concomitant conditions, such as atrial fibrillation and chronic kidney disease, that make the post-TAVR antithrombotic management particularly insidious. This scenario is further complicated by the lack of specific evidence regarding the 'real-life' complex conditions typical of the geriatric syndromes, thus, the management of such a heterogeneous population, ranging from healthy ageing to frailty, is far from being defined. The aim of the present review is to summarize the critical points and the most updated evidence regarding the post-TAVR antithrombotic approach in the geriatric population, with a specific focus on the most frequent clinical settings.

Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Pre-Procedural Serum Albumin on Mortality in Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

Pre-procedural serum albumin's impact on prognosis after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has been studied. Literature on the prognostic role of serum albumin in the survival of patients undergoing TAVR shows conflicting results. This meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the impact of pre-procedural serum albumin on outcomes after TAVR. A comprehensive literature search of EMBASE, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Library was undertaken through July 2019. The primary end points were 30-day and one-year all-cause mortality after TAVR. Risk ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the random-effect model. Ten eligible studies with 8,236 patients were analyzed. Of the 8,236 patients undergoing TAVR, with a mean age of 83 years, 48.8% were men and were categorized into two groups according to low and normal serum albumin (cut-off value: 3.5 or 4 g/dL). Overall, low albumin was significantly associated with an approximately two-fold increase in 30-day all-cause mortality (HR, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.53-2.86) and a 61% increase risk for one-year mortality (HR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.31-1.98) in patients after TAVR. Sensitivity analyses showed the results to be robust. The association of low albumin level with an increase in one-year mortality risk was not modified by study design, albumin cut-off value, Society of Thoracic Surgeons Predicted Risk of Mortality (STS-PROM), and study quality. In conclusion, low albumin levels were associated with poor prognosis in patients after TAVR. Pre-procedural albumin can be used as a simple tool related to prognosis after TAVR.

Impact of a Claims-Based Frailty Indicator on the Prediction of Long-Term Mortality After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in Medicare Beneficiaries

Background Prospectively collected frailty markers are associated with an incremental 1-year mortality risk after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) compared with comorbidities alone. Whether information on frailty markers captured retrospectively in administrative billing data is similarly predictive of long-term mortality after TAVR is unknown. We sought to characterize the prognostic importance of frailty factors as identified in healthcare billing records in comparison to validated measures of frailty for the prediction of long-term mortality after TAVR. Methods and Results Adult patients undergoing TAVR between August 25, 2011, and September 29, 2015, were identified among Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. The Johns Hopkins Claims-based Frailty Indicator was used to identify frail patients. We used nested Cox regression models to identify claims-based predictors of mortality up to 4 years post-procedure. Four groups of variables, including cardiac risk factors, noncardiac risk factors, patient procedural risk factors, and nontraditional markers of frailty, were introduced sequentially, and their integrated discrimination improvement was assessed. A total of 52 338 TAVR patients from 558 clinical sites were identified, with a mean follow-up time period of 16 months. In total, 14 174 (27.1%) patients died within the study period. The mortality rate was 53.9% at 4 years post-TAVR. A total of 34 863 (66.6%) patients were defined as frail. The discrimination of each of the 4 models was 0.60 (95% CI, 0.59-60), 0.65 (95% CI, 0.64-0.65), 0.68 (95% CI, 0.67-0.68), and 0.70 (95% CI, 0.69-0.70), respectively. The addition of nontraditional frailty markers as identified in claims improved mortality prediction above and beyond traditional risk factors (integrated discrimination improvement: 0.019; P<0.001). Conclusions Risk prediction models that include frailty as identified in claims data can be used to predict long-term mortality risk after TAVR. Linkage to claims data may allow enhanced mortality risk prediction for studies that do not collect information on frailty.

Outcome in elderly patients with aortic stenosis undergoing hip fracture surgery. Results may suggest a different postoperative strategy?

BACKGROUND

Five to ten percent of patients with hip fracture have severe aortic valve stenosis (AS). The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the impact of AS on early and long-term outcome after surgery for hip fracture.

METHODS

145 patients with AS and 283 consecutive patients without AS (control group) aged >70 years referred to Azienda Ospadaliera Universitaria (AOU) Careggi for hip fracture were included in the study. The endpoints were incidence of postoperative myocardial infarction, 30-day and 1-year mortality, and a composite endpoint (30-day mortality + myocardial infarction).

RESULTS

66 patients had mild, 47 moderate and 32 severe AS according to the European Society of Cardiology guidelines. 30-day mortality was 6.2% in AS and 3.1% in controls. Postoperative non-fatal myocardial infarction and composite endpoint were more frequent in AS than in the control group (8.3% vs 1.1%, p<0.001 and 14.5% vs 4.2%, p<0.001, respectively). The risk was significantly higher for patients with severe AS (28.1%). 1-year mortality in patients with moderate/severe AS was 46% in comparison with 16% in mild AS or in the control group (p<0.001). Coronary disease, atrial fibrillation, age, and aortic gradient were independent predictors of mortality in AS.

DISCUSSION

AS significantly affects postoperative outcome after surgery for hip fracture. Since not infrequently AS is incidentally diagnosed during hospitalization after trauma, which should be the management in these patients after hip surgery? How many might benefit from surgical valve replacement or transcatheter aortic valve replacement? A heart team evaluation may be suggested before discharge for most of these patients.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

IV.

Utility of an additive frailty tests index score for mortality risk assessment following transcatheter aortic valve replacement

BACKGROUND

The impact of frailty assessment on outcomes in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) remains unclear. Our aim was to evaluate the individual effect of each frailty test and the utility of an additive frailty index score on short- and long-term survival following TAVR.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of consecutive TAVR patients for whom a complete set of frailty tests was obtained: algorithm defined grip strength and 5-m walking tests, body mass index <20 kg/m², Katz activities of daily living ≤4/6, serum albumin <3.5 g/dL. Frailty status was defined as having 3 or more positive frailty tests. Included were 498 patients with a mean age of 82±8 years.

RESULTS

Frailty status, observed in 266 (53%) patients, was associated with both 30-day and 1-year mortality (6% vs. 2%, P=.016; 20% vs. 9%, P<.001; within the respective frailty groups). As compared to 0-2 frailty criteria, a higher frailty index score was associated with increased risk of death at 1 year (OR 2.23; 95% CI 1.14-4.34; P=.019 and OR 3.30; 95% CI 1.36-8.00; P=.008 for 3 and 4-5 frailty criteria met, respectively). In Cox regression analysis, frailty status was correlated with 1-year mortality (HR=2.2; 95%CI 1.25-3.96; P=.007), and a higher frailty index was associated with increased mortality risk (HR=2.0; 95% CI 1.08-3.7; P=.027; and HR=3.07; 95% CI 1.4-6.7; P=.005; for any 3, and 4-5 frailty criteria, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Frailty status and a higher frailty index score were associated with increased 1-year mortality risk following TAVR.

Association of frailty status with acute kidney injury and mortality after transcatheter aortic valve replacement: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective

Frailty is a common condition in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). The aim of this systematic review was to assess the impact of frailty status on acute kidney injury (AKI) and mortality after TAVR.

Methods

A systematic literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases from the inception through November 2016. The protocol for this study is registered with PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews; no. CRD42016052350). Studies that reported odds ratios, relative risks or hazard ratios comparing the risk of AKI after TAVR in frail vs. non-frail patients were included. Mortality risk was evaluated among the studies that reported AKI-related outcomes. Pooled risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a random-effect, generic inverse variance method.

Results

Eight cohort studies with a total of 10,498 patients were identified and included in the meta-analysis. The pooled RR of AKI after TAVR among the frail patients was 1.19 (95% CI 0.97–1.46, I² = 0), compared with non-frail patients. When the meta-analysis was restricted only to studies with standardized AKI diagnosis according to Valve Academic Research Consortium (VARC)-2 criteria, the pooled RRs of AKI in frail patients was 1.16 (95% CI 0.91–1.47, I² = 0). Within the selected studies, frailty status was significantly associated with increased mortality (RR 2.01; 95% CI 1.44–2.80, I² = 58).

Conclusion

The findings from our study suggest no significant association between frailty status and AKI after TAVR. However, frailty status is associated with mortality after TAVR and may aid appropriate patient selection for TAVR.