Clinical impact of concomitant tricuspid valve procedures during left ventricular assist device implantation.

Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is common in patients with end-stage heart failure receiving left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), but the benefit of concomitant tricuspid valve procedures (TVPs) remains uncertain. This study examined the impact of TVP at the time of LVAD implantation on clinical outcomes and quality of life (QOL) metrics. We included adult patients in the Interagency Registry for Mechanical Circulatory Support database with various degrees of TR who received continuous-flow LVADs from 2008 to 2017. Patients undergoing concomitant TVP were compared with those without the intervention in a stratified analysis. Descriptive analyses, survival analyses, and Andersen‒Gill hazard models were used as appropriate to examine associations with clinical and patient-centered QOL outcomes. Our analysis included 8,263 (53.1%) mild, 4,252 (33.3%) moderate, and 2,100 (13.5%) severe TR cases. TVP rate increased with severity: 8.6% of mild, 18.0% of moderate, and 43.9% of severe cases. TVP was not associated with survival benefit in cases of mild (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.79-1.19, p = 0.75), moderate (aHR: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.88-1.20, p = 0.72), or severe (aHR: 1.20, 95% CI: 0.98-1.48, p = 0.08) TR. For patients with combined moderate or severe TR, TVP was associated with increased mortality (log-rank p < 0.01, aHR: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.00-1.27, p = 0.04). After adjusting for TR severity, TVP was associated with increased risk of bleeding, arrhythmia, and stroke (p < 0.01 each) and no improvements in QOL (p > 0.05). TVP at the time of LVAD implantation was not associated with either improved survival or QOL, and there were associations with increased risk of adverse events among patients with moderate and severe TR.

Mullan C ，Caraballo C ，Ravindra NG ，Miller PE ，Mori M ，McCullough M ，Clarke JD ，Anwer M ，Velazquez EJ ，Geirsson A ，Desai NR ，Ahmad T ... -  《-》

Outcomes in patients who underwent a concomitant tricuspid valve procedure during left ventricular assist device implantation.

Study findings have been inconsistent regarding whether a concomitant tricuspid valve replacement or repair performed concurrently with continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (CF-LVAD) implantation has additive clinical benefit in patients with severe tricuspid valve regurgitation (TR). To determine the effect of performing a concomitant tricuspid valve procedure (TVP) at the time of CF-LVAD implantation on patient outcomes. We retrospectively reviewed our single-institution experience in 526 patients who underwent primary implantation of a CF-LVAD between November 2003 and March 2016. We identified 59 (11.2%) patients who had severe TR at the time of implantation and analyzed the effect of performing a concomitant TVP at the time of CF-LVAD implantation on the rate of survival, incidence of postoperative right heart failure (RHF), recurrence of TR, and incidence of 30-day readmission. We did not observe a significant difference in the overall survival rate (P = .51), incidence of postoperative RHF (P = .26), or recurrence of TR (P = .73) between patients with severe TR who underwent a TVP and those who did not at the time of CF-LVAD implantation. However, the incidence of 30-day readmission was significantly lower in patients who underwent a TVP than in those who did not (P = .002). Performing a concomitant TVP at the time of CF-LVAD implantation did not improve patient outcomes but reduced the incidence of 30-day readmission.

Critsinelis A ，Kurihara C ，Kawabori M ，Sugiura T ，Loor G ，Frazier OH ，Morgan J ... -  《-》

Concomitant tricuspid valve surgery during implantation of continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices: a Society of Thoracic Surgeons database analysis.

Performing concomitant tricuspid valve procedures (TVPs) in left ventricular assist device (LVAD) patients with significant pre-operative tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is controversial, and no studies have been large enough to definitively guide therapy. Between January 2006 and September 2012, 2,196 patients with moderate to severe pre-operative TR from 115 institutions underwent implantation of a continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) as reported by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Database. Of these, 588 (27%) underwent a concomitant TVP. Inverse probability weighting based on propensity score was used to adjust for differences between the LVAD alone and LVAD+TVP groups, and outcomes were compared. Most patients in the LVAD+TVP group underwent an annuloplasty alone (81.1%). Concomitant TVP did not affect risk of post-operative right VAD insertion (risk ratio [RR], 0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.49-1.36; p = 0.4310) or death (RR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.68-1.33; p = 0.7658). However, TVP was associated with an increased risk for post-operative renal failure (RR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.13-2.08; p = 0.0061), dialysis (RR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.03-2.15; p = 0.0339), reoperation (RR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.07-1.45; p = 0.0056), greater total transfusion requirement (RR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.05; p = 0.0013), and hospital length of stay > 21 days (RR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.16-1.43; p < 0.0001). Time on the ventilator and intensive care unit length of stay were also significantly prolonged for the LVAD+TVP group. Performing a concomitant TVP for continuous-flow LVAD patients with moderate to severe TR did not reduce early death or right VAD requirement and was associated with worse early post-operative outcomes. These data caution against routine concomitant TVP based solely on degree of pre-operative TR and suggest that additional selection criteria are needed to identify those patients in whom concomitant TVP may prevent post-operative right ventricular failure.

Robertson JO ，Grau-Sepulveda MV ，Okada S ，O'Brien SM ，Matthew Brennan J ，Shah AS ，Itoh A ，Damiano RJ ，Prasad S ，Silvestry SC ... -  《-》

Utility of concomitant tricuspid valve procedures for patients undergoing implantation of a continuous-flow left ventricular device.

Patients referred for implantable continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices (cfLVAD) frequently have preoperative right heart failure and tricuspid regurgitation (TR). The objective of this report is to examine early clinical benefits of concomitant tricuspid surgery for these patients. Sixty-one of 200 consecutive cfLVAD patients at our institution displayed preimplant right heart dysfunction and significant TR. Thirty-three underwent cfLVAD plus a tricuspid valve procedure (TVP), and 28 had cfLVAD alone. Preimplant characteristics and clinical outcomes were retrospectively studied. As previously described, post-LVAD right ventricular failure was defined as need for right ventricular assist device (RVAD) support or greater than 14 days of intravenous inotropic support. Preimplant characteristics were similar between the 2 groups. Cardiopulmonary bypass time was increased for the group that received concomitant TVPs. The most common TVP consisted of an undersizing ring annuloplasty. The cfLVAD-alone group had greater TR after implant relative to the cfLVAD+TVP group. The cfLVAD-alone group experienced greater postprocedure right ventricular failure relative to cfLVAD+TVP (46.4% vs 18.2%; P < .05). Furthermore, prolonged hospitalization was increased for the cfLVAD-alone group versus the cfLVAD+TVP. Survival was similar between the 2 groups. Concomitant TVP appears to reduce postprocedure right ventricular failure for patients with significant TR undergoing cfLVAD implantation.

Piacentino V 3rd ，Ganapathi AM ，Stafford-Smith M ，Hsieh MK ，Patel CB ，Simeone AA ，Rogers JG ，Milano CA ... -  《-》

Limited Utility of Tricuspid Valve Repair at the Time of Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation.

The optimal management of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) in patients undergoing left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation is controversial. This study was undertaken to determine the impact of tricuspid valve repair (TVR) at the time of LVAD implantation on survival. The Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support was used to analyze the outcomes of patients undergoing LVAD implantation as destination therapy with or without concomitant TVR. Among 2,527 patients undergoing implant of a continuous flow LVAD as destination therapy during the study period, 989 (39%) had moderate or severe TR. The management of TR was not uniform among these patients. Patients with moderate and severe TR underwent TVR in 16.7% and 35.3% of cases, respectively. Moderate and severe TR at the time of LVAD implantation were associated with poorer survival over the entire follow-up period (p = 0.009). Interestingly, TVR at the time of LVAD implantation did not confer improved survival, even among patients with preimplant moderate or severe TR. A potential explanation for this finding is that patients with preimplant moderate or severe TR who underwent LVAD implant with concomitant TVR commonly experienced recurrent, late TR (21% to 27%). Tricuspid valve repair is performed commonly at the time of LVAD implant despite the fact that it does not confer a clear survival benefit. For many patients, LVAD implant alone relieves preimplant TR as effectively as LVAD implant with TVR. Further study is necessary to determine what factors lead to recurrence of late TR in LVAD patients both with and without TVR.

Song HK ，Gelow JM ，Mudd J ，Chien C ，Tibayan FA ，Hollifield K ，Naftel D ，Kirklin J ... -  《-》