Isolated tricuspid valve regurgitation

Outcomes of tricuspid valve prostheses after heart transplantation: a systematic review

Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is the most common valvular pathology after heart transplantation (HTx) and endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) remains responsible for the majority of cases due to the high probability of structural valve damage. The aim of the present review was to describe the results of surgical management of severe tricuspid regurgitation through tricuspid valve replacement (TVR) after a previous HTx. A systematic review was conducted by searching Pubmed, ScienceDirect, SciELO, DOAJ, and Cochrane databases until June 2023 for publications reporting patients undergoing TVR surgery after a previous HTx. If no right heart valve surgery was undertaken, or a heterotopic heart transplant was performed, or if the concomitant procedure was performed during the transplant itself, the paper was excluded. Twenty articles met our inclusion criteria out of 1532 potentially eligible studies, with a total of 300 patients. Mean age was 55.1 ± 9.6 years, and 85.1% were male. The mean number of EMB per patient was 31.1 ± 5.5 with a mean time between HTx and TVR of 7.64 ± 3.31 years. Bioprostheses were used in 83.3% of cases and 75.0% of patients with a bioprosthesis were reported as alive at last follow-up. Tricuspid valve repair is a valuable option, but these patients will be susceptible to recurrent TR after EMB. TVR with a bioprosthesis may provide the optimal solution for this subset of patients, as EMB is not feasible with a mechanical valve.

Influence of Tricuspid Regurgitation After Heart Transplantation: A Single-center Experience

Tricuspid valve regurgitation (TVR) is often observed after orthotopic heart transplantation. However, there is a scarcity of data regarding long-term outcomes of patients with TVR.

Methods

Between January 2008 and December 2015, 169 patients underwent orthotopic heart transplantation at our center and were included in this study. TVR trends and associated clinical parameters were retrospectively analyzed. TVR was assessed after 30 d, 1 y, 3 y, and 5 y, and groups were defined according to changes in TVR grade: constant (group 1; n = 100), improvement (group 2; n = 26), and deterioration (group 3; n = 43). Survival, outcome with regard to operative technique, and long-term kidney and liver function during follow-up were assessed.

Results

Mean follow-up time was 7.67 ± 4.17 y (median 8.62, Q1 5.06, Q3 11.16). Overall mortality was 42.0%, with differences between the groups (P < 0.01). Cox regression analysis revealed improvement of TVR as a significant predictor for survival (hazard ratio 0.23; 95% confidence interval, 0.08-0.63, P < 0.01). After 1 y 2.7%, after 3 y 3.7%, and after 5 y 3.9% of the patients showed persistent severe TVR. Creatinine levels after 30 d and 1, 3, and 5 y showed significant differences between the groups (P = 0.02, P < 0.01, P < 0.01, and P = 0.01), deterioration of TVR being associated with higher creatinine levels during follow-up.

Conclusions

Deterioration of TVR is associated with higher mortality and renal dysfunction. Improvement of TVR may function as a positive predictor for long-term survival after heart transplantation. Improvement of TVR should be a therapeutic goal offering a prognostic value for long-term survival.

Updates in heart failure: sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors and beyond – major changes are coming

Prevalence of heart failure is increasing worldwide mainly due to the ageing of the population and the improvement in diagnosis and treatment. In recent years, huge progress has been made in the management of heart failure patients. A new definition of chronic heart failure based on left ventricular ejection fraction and its possible trajectories has been reported. New drug classes have been introduced for the treatment of chronic heart failure. In particular, the prognostic benefit of sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors was demonstrated across all the heart failure phenotypes. Therapies for patients with advanced heart failure (long-term mechanical circulatory supports and heart transplantation) are now indicated also in the case of mild-to-moderate symptoms but with high risk of progression. In patients with acute heart failure, monitoring of urinary sodium and the use of acetazolamide may lead to better decongestion. Importantly, pre- and postdischarge assessment should lead to optimal treatment. Devices and telemonitoring can also be of help. Cardiovascular and noncardiovascular comorbidities are major determinants of the clinical course and need proper management. This review will summarize these important advances.

CT in Transcatheter-delivered Treatment of Valvular Heart Disease

Minimally invasive strategies to treat valvular heart disease have emerged over the past 2 decades. The use of transcatheter aortic valve replacement in the treatment of severe aortic stenosis, for example, has recently expanded from high- to low-risk patients and became an alternative treatment for those with prohibitive surgical risk. With the increase in transcatheter strategies, multimodality imaging, including echocardiography, CT, fluoroscopy, and cardiac MRI, are used. Strategies for preprocedural imaging strategies vary depending on the targeted valve. Herein, an overview of preprocedural imaging strategies and their postprocessing approaches is provided, with a focus on CT. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement is reviewed, as well as less established minimally invasive treatments of the mitral and tricuspid valves. In addition, device-specific details and the goals of CT imaging are discussed. Future imaging developments, such as peri-procedural fusion imaging, machine learning for image processing, and mixed reality applications, are presented.

Observed versus predicted mortality after isolated tricuspid valve surgery

BACKGROUND

Aim of this study is to analyse the performances of Clinical Risk Score (CRS) and European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE)-II in isolated tricuspid surgery.

METHODS

Three hundred and eighty-three patients (54 ± 16 year; 54% female) were enrolled. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between the true positive fraction of test results and the false-positive fraction for a procedure.

RESULTS

Considering the 30-day mortality the area under the curve was 0.6 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.50-0.72) for EuroSCORE II and 0.7 (95% CI 0.56-0.84) for CRS-score. The ratio of expected/observed mortality showed underestimation when considering EuroSCORE-II (min. 0.46-max. 0.6). At multivariate analysis, the CRS score (p = .005) was predictor of late cardiac death.

CONCLUSION

We suggest using both scores to obtain a range of expected mortality. CRS to speculate on late survival.

Editorial commentary: Cutting the Gordian knot of right-sided prosthetic valve thrombosis

With limited data available for the tricuspid valve, there are no stringent recommendations in the current guidelines (ESC 2021). Valve replacement for the right-sided heart is inherently problematic and bears the potential for complications - including prosthetic valve thrombosis (PVT). The purpose of this editorial is to review the key features of this clinical scenario and to outline the essential aspects for optimized patient management and improved outcome. Depending on the clinical presentation of PVT, either immediate surgery, thrombolysis, or anticoagulation may be considered - with the sole intensification of anticoagulation likely being the most inferior. Given the high risk of re-thrombosis, a dedicated follow-up program is essential to identify complications early and offer adequate treatment.

Beating vs Arrested Heart Isolated Tricuspid Valve Surgery: Long-term Outcomes

BACKGROUND

Isolated tricuspid valve (TV) surgery is a rare procedure generally considered at high risk of perioperative mortality and poor long-term outcomes. Surgical treatment can be performed with either an arrested heart (AH) or beating heart (BH) technique. Aim of this study is to compare the outcomes of isolated tricuspid surgery with two different approaches.

METHODS

The SUR-TRI study is a multicenter international retrospective study enrolling adult patients who underwent isolated tricuspid valve procedures (n=406, 56±16 years; 56% female) at 13 international sites. AH and BH strategies were performed in 253 and 153 cases, respectively. Propensity score-matched analysis was used to compare groups.

RESULTS

After matching, 129 pairs were obtained and analyzed. The 30-day mortality rate was 6.2 vs 5.0% in the AH and BH groups, respectively (p=0.9). The rates of acute renal failure requiring replacement therapy (3 vs 10%, p=0.02) and stroke (0 vs 1.8%, p=0.08) were numerically higher in the AH group. The 6-year survival rate was 67±6 vs 78±5% in the AH and BH groups, respectively (p=0.18), while freedom from cardiac death was 75±5 vs 84±4% (p=0.21). The six-year composite cardiac endpoint of cardiac death and reoperation rate was 60±9 vs 86±5% (p=0.024) comparing AH-TV replacement and BH-TV repair groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Isolated tricuspid valve surgery performed with a beating heart strategy is a safe option and resulted in a trend of increased long-term survival and freedom from reoperation when compared with the standard arrested heart technique. Patients undergoing beating heart valve repair had the best long-term outcome.