Bleeding complications after surgical aortic valve replacement compared with transcatheter aortic valve replacement: insights from the PARTNER I Trial (Placement of Aortic Transcatheter Valve)

Abstract

Objectives: This study sought to identify the incidence, predictors, and prognostic impact of bleeding complications (BC) after surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) compared with transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

Background: Bleeding complications after SAVR and TAVR are frequent and may be associated with an unfavorable prognosis.

Methods: In the randomized controlled PARTNER (Placement of Aortic Transcatheter Valve) I trial, 657 patients from cohort A (operable high risk) were randomly assigned to SAVR or TAVR (transfemoral [TF] if iliofemoral access was suitable or transapical [TA] if not) and received the designated treatment. First-generation Edwards SAPIEN valves and delivery systems (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, California) were used for TAVR, through a 22- or 24-F sheath. The 30-day rates of major BC (modified Valve Academic Research Consortium definitions), predictors of BC, and their association with 1-year mortality were assessed.

Results: A total of 71 (22.7%), 27 (11.3%), and 9 (8.8%) patients had major BC within 30 days of the procedure after SAVR, TF-TAVR, and TA-TAVR, respectively (p < 0.0001). SAVR was associated with a significantly higher 30-day rate of transfusion (17.9%) than either TF-TAVR (7.1%) or TA-TAVR (4.8%; p < 0.0001). Independent predictors of major BC were the occurrence of major vascular complications and use of intraprocedural hemodynamic support among TF-TAVR patients, severe procedural complications requiring conversion to open surgery among TA-TAVR patients, and the presence of low hemoglobin at baseline among SAVR patients. Major BC was identified as the strongest independent predictor of 1-year mortality among the full cohort. However, risk-adjusted analyses demonstrated a significant interaction between BC and treatment strategy with respect to mortality, suggesting that BC after SAVR have a greater impact on prognosis than after TAVR.

Conclusions: Among high-risk aortic stenosis patients enrolled in the PARTNER I randomized trial, BC were more common after SAVR than after TAVR and were also associated with a worse long-term prognosis. (THE PARTNER TRIAL: Placement of AoRTic TraNscathetER Valve Trial; NCT00530894).

Keywords: aortic stenosis; bleeding; surgical aortic valve replacement; transcatheter aortic valve implantation; transcatheter aortic valve replacement.