Implications of Mitral Annular Disjunction in Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Repair for Degenerative Mitral Regurgitation.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) in patients with mitral annular disjunction (MAD). OBJECTIVES: The authors sought to explore TEER for degenerative mitral regurgitation (MR) according to MAD status. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 271 consecutive patients (median age 82 [Q1-Q3: 75-88] years, 60.9% men) undergoing an isolated, first-ever TEER for whom there were viewable preprocedural echocardiograms. Stratified by MAD status at baseline, the cohort was evaluated for all-cause mortality, heart failure hospitalizations, and mitral reinterventions-the composite of which constituted the primary outcome-as well as functional capacity and residual MR, all along the first postprocedural year. RESULTS: Individuals with (n = 62, 22.9%) vs without MAD had more extensive prolapse and larger valve dimensions. Although the former's procedures were longer, utilizing more devices per case, technical success rate and residual MR were comparable. MAD presence was associated with higher mortality risk (HR: 2.64; 95% CI: 1.82-5.52; P = 0.014), and increased MAD length-with lower odds of functional class ≤II (OR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.47-0.88; P = 0.006). Among 47 MAD patients with retrievable 1-month data, MAD regressed in 91.5% and by an overall 50% (Q1-Q3: 22%-100%) compared with baseline (P < 0.001). A greater MAD shortening conferred attenuated risk for the primary outcome. CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, TEER for degenerative MR accompanied by MAD was feasible and safe; however, its postprocedural course was somewhat less favorable. MAD shortening following TEER was observed in most patients and proved prognostically beneficial.

Decreased hospital readmissions after programmatic strengthening of an outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) program.

Objective: To determine whether a structured OPAT program supervised by an infectious disease physician and led by an OPAT nurse decreased hospital readmission rates and OPAT-related complications and whether it affected clinical cure. We also evaluated predictors of readmission while receiving OPAT. Patients: A convenience sample of 428 patients admitted to a tertiary-care hospital in Chicago, Illinois, with infections requiring intravenous antibiotic therapy after hospital discharge. Methods: In this retrospective, quasi-experimental study, we compared patients discharged on intravenous antimicrobials from an OPAT program before and after implementation of a structured ID physician and nurse-led OPAT program. The preintervention group consisted of patients discharged on OPAT managed by individual physicians without central program oversight or nurse care coordination. All-cause and OPAT-related readmissions were compared using the χ2 test. Factors associated with readmission for OPAT-related problems at a significance level of P < .10 in univariate analysis were eligible for testing in a forward, stepwise, multinomial, logistic regression to identify independent predictors of readmission. Results: In total, 428 patients were included in the study. Unplanned OPAT-related hospital readmissions decreased significantly after implementation of the structured OPAT program (17.8% vs 7%; P = .003). OPAT-related readmission reasons included infection recurrence or progression (53%), adverse drug reaction (26%), or line-associated issues (21%). Independent predictors of hospital readmission due to OPAT-related events included vancomycin administration and longer length of outpatient therapy. Clinical cure increased from 69.8% before the intervention to 94.9% after the intervention (P < .001). Conclusion: A structured ID physician and nurse-led OPAT program was associated with a decrease in OPAT-related readmissions and improved clinical cure.