Outcomes of mitral TEER in non-responders to cardiac resynchronization therapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Secondary mitral regurgitation (MR) worsens in 10-15 % of heart failure (HF) patients receiving cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) with Mitra-Clip (Abbot Vascular, Santa Clara, CA, USA) therapy is associated with improved survival and decreased rates of hospitalization for HF in selected patients with secondary MR. Data on TEER outcomes in CRT-non-responders are limited. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate outcomes of mitral TEER with Mitra-Clip in CRT-non-responders. METHODS: Cochrane, Scopus, MEDLINE, and EMBASE were searched for studies discussing outcomes of Mitra-Clip in CRT non-responders. Two reviewers were independently involved in screening studies and extracting relevant data. Individual study incidence rate estimates underwent logit transformation to calculate the weighted summary proportion under the random effect model. RESULTS: A total of eight reports met the inclusion criteria (439 patients). Mitra-Clip improved MR grade to ≤2+ in 83.8 % and 86.8 % of CRT non-responders at six months and one year, respectively. Symptomatic improvement (New York Heart Association class ≤II) was also found in 71 % and 78.1 % of CRT non-responders at six months and one year, respectively. The pooled overall incidence estimates of mortality at 30 days, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years were 3.6 %, 9.2 %, 17.8 %, and 25.9 %, respectively. CONCLUSION: TEER with Mitra-Clip in patients with significant secondary MR who do not respond to CRT was associated with MR improvement, alleviation of symptoms, and mortality rates similar to those in the COAPT trial.

Risk Prediction Models for Hospital Mortality in General Medical Patients: A Systematic Review.

Objective: To systematically review contemporary prediction models for hospital mortality developed or validated in general medical patients. Methods: We screened articles in five databases, from January 1, 2010, through April 7, 2022, and the bibliography of articles selected for final inclusion. We assessed the quality for risk of bias and applicability using the Prediction Model Risk of Bias Assessment Tool (PROBAST) and extracted data using the Critical Appraisal and Data Extraction for Systematic Reviews of Prediction Modelling Studies (CHARMS) checklist. Two investigators independently screened each article, assessed quality, and extracted data. Results: From 20,424 unique articles, we identified 15 models in 8 studies across 10 countries. The studies included 280,793 general medical patients and 19,923 hospital deaths. Models included 7 early warning scores, 2 comorbidities indices, and 6 combination models. Ten models were studied in all general medical patients (general models) and 7 in general medical patients with infection (infection models). Of the 15 models, 13 were developed using logistic or Poisson regression and 2 using machine learning methods. Also, 4 of 15 models reported on handling of missing values. None of the infection models had high discrimination, whereas 4 of 10 general models had high discrimination (area under curve >0.8). Only 1 model appropriately assessed calibration. All models had high risk of bias; 4 of 10 general models and 5 of 7 infection models had low concern for applicability for general medical patients. Conclusion: Mortality prediction models for general medical patients were sparse and differed in quality, applicability, and discrimination. These models require hospital-level validation and/or recalibration in general medical patients to guide mortality reduction interventions.

Effect of TAVR Approach and Other Baseline Factors on the Incidence of Acute Kidney Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a well-known complication following a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and is associated with higher morbidity and mortality. Objective: We aim to compare the risk of developing AKI after transfemoral (TF), transapical (TA), and transaortic (TAo) approaches following TAVR. Methods: We searched Medline and EMBASE databases from January 2009 to January 2021. We included studies that evaluated the risk of AKI based on different TAVR approaches. After extracting each study's data, we calculated the risk ratio and 95% confidence intervals using RevMan software 5.4. Publication bias was assessed by the forest plot. Results: Thirty-six (36) studies, consisting of 70,406 patients undergoing TAVR were included. Thirty-five studies compared TF to TA, and only seven investigations compared TF to TAo. AKI was documented in 4,857 out of 50,395 (9.6%) patients that underwent TF TAVR compared to 3,155 out of 19,721 (16%) patients who underwent TA-TAVR, with a risk ratio of 0.49 (95% CI, 0.36-0.66; p < 0.00001). Likewise, 273 patients developed AKI out of the 1,840 patients (14.8%) that underwent TF-TAVR in contrast to 67 patients out of the 421 patients (15.9%) that underwent TAo-TAVR, with a risk ratio of 0.51 (95% CI, 0.27-0.98; p = 0.04). There was no significant risk when we compared TA to TAo approaches, with a risk ratio of 0.89 (95% CI, 0.29-2.75; p = 0.84). Conclusion: The risk of post-TAVR AKI is significantly lower in patients who underwent TF-TAVR than those who underwent TA-TAVR or TAo-TAVR.

Efficacy of ICD/CRT-D Remote Monitoring in Patients With HFrEF: a Bayesian Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To evaluate remote monitoring using implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) or cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D) devices as an adjunctive tool to the traditional care of patients with heart failure (HF). RECENT FINDINGS: We included 11 trials encompassing 5965 patients. Absolute risk difference (ARD) with 95% credible interval (CrI) was estimated. Pooled (posterior) risk difference was computed using Bayesian hierarchical methods. The ARD for mortality was centered at - 0.01 (95% CrI: - 0.03; 0.01, Tau: 0.02), with an 82% probability of ARD of ICD/CRT-D remote monitoring with respect to control being less than 0. The ARD for cardiovascular mortality was centered at - 0.03 (95% CrI: - 0.11; 0.05, Tau: 0.10), with an 84% probability of ARD of ICD/CRT-D remote monitoring with respect to control being less than 0. ICD/CRT-D remote monitoring in patients with HF is associated with a higher probability of reduced all-cause and cardiovascular mortality compared with standard care alone.

Safety and efficacy outcomes of atrial fibrillation ablation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) and stroke. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of AF ablation in patients with RA. Methods: All patients with RA undergoing AF ablation at our institution from 2010 to 2021 were propensity matched to patients without RA using 9 baseline characteristics. The primary outcome was procedural efficacy defined by clinical AF recurrence, the need for antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs), and repeat catheter ablation. Secondary outcome was safety. Results: A total of 45 patients with RA (age 66.3 ± 7.7 years) were matched to 45 patients without a history of RA (age 68.0 ± 7.3 years). Both groups had similar procedural and periprocedural characteristics. Before ablation, RA patients had statistically higher C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (P ≤.01) and erythrocyte sedimentation rates (ESRs) (P <.05) compared to non-RA patients. After ablation, RA patients had statistically significant higher rates of AF recurrence (P = .006), were more likely to be taking AADs (P <.05), and more likely to undergo repeat ablations (P <.05). The use of immunosuppression or corticosteroids at the time of ablation did not influence the primary endpoint of AF recurrence, AADs, or repeat ablation. Multivariate regression analysis showed CRP and ESR were independent predictors of AF recurrence. CRP was an independent predictor of repeat ablation. Conclusion: Patients with RA are at higher risk of clinical AF recurrence, and are more likely to be taking AADs and require repeat ablation. Preablation CRP and ESR are independent predictors of AF recurrence, and CRP is an independent predictor of repeat catheter ablation.

P2Y12 Inhibitors versus Aspirin Monotherapy for Long-term Secondary Prevention of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Events: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Patients with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) need long-term antiplatelet therapy to decrease the risk of future ASCVD events. We searched PubMed, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov (inception through September 2021) for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating P2Y12 inhibitors vs aspirin for secondary prevention of ASCVD events. Seven RCTs including a total of 56,982 patients were included in this analysis. The median follow-up duration was 22.8 (IQR 12) months. When P2Y12 inhibitors were compared with aspirin as long-term antiplatelet therapy for secondary prevention of ASCVD events, there was a significant decrease in the risk of myocardial infarction [RR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.72-0.94], and stroke [RR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.83-0.99]. However, there was no significant difference in all-cause mortality [RR: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.92-1.12], or cardiovascular mortality [RR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.83-1.08] between P2Y12 inhibitors and aspirin users. Additionally, there was no significant difference in major bleeding events [RR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.74-1.04], or all bleeding events [RR: 1.09; 95% CI: 0.90-1.33] between P2Y12 inhibitors and aspirin groups. Use of P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy is associated with lower rates of myocardial infarction and stroke in ASCVD patients without any significant difference in mortality, or bleeding compared to aspirin monotherapy.