Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation Wait-Time Management: Derivation and Validation of the Canadian TAVI Triage Tool (CAN3T).

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has seen indication expansion and thus exponential growth in demand over the past decade. In many jurisdictions, the growing demand has outpaced capacity, increasing wait times and preprocedural adverse events. In this study, we derived prediction models that estimate the risk of adverse events on the waitlist and developed a triage tool to identify patients who should be prioritized for TAVI. METHODS AND RESULTS: We included adult patients in Ontario, Canada referred for TAVI and followed up until one of the following events first occurred: death, TAVI procedure, removal from waitlist, or end of the observation period. We used subdistribution hazards models to find significant predictors for each of the following outcomes: (1) all-cause death while on the waitlist; (2) all-cause hospitalization while on the waitlist; (3) receipt of urgent TAVI; and (4) a composite outcome. The median predicted risk at 12 weeks was chosen as a threshold for a maximum acceptable risk while on the waitlist and incorporated in the triage tool to recommend individualized wait times. Of 13 128 patients, 586 died while on the waitlist, and 4343 had at least 1 hospitalization. A total of 6854 TAVIs were completed, of which 1135 were urgent procedures. We were able to create parsimonious models for each outcome that included clinically relevant predictors. CONCLUSIONS: The Canadian TAVI Triage Tool (CAN3T) is a triage tool to assist clinicians in the prioritization of patients who should have timely access to TAVI. We anticipate that the CAN3T will be a valuable tool as it may improve equity in access to care, reduce preventable adverse events, and improve system efficiency.

Predictors of Long-term Cardiovascular Versus Non-cardiovascular Mortality and Repeat Intervention in Patients Having Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.

There is a paucity of literature characterizing the risk of long-term mortality and reintervention after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Addressing this gap has become increasingly relevant with the inclusion of intermediate and low surgical risk patients and the need for data to inform their long-term management. We sought to investigate the long-term trends and predictors of cardiovascular versus noncardiovascular mortality as well as reintervention in post-TAVI patients. Our cohort consisted of 5,406 patients who underwent TAVI in Ontario, Canada from 2011 to 2018. We used Kaplan-Meier analysis to estimate 7-year all-cause mortality and a Cox proportional hazard model to identify demographic, co-morbid, and procedural predictors. Similarly, cumulative incidence functions were used to estimate cardiovascular versus noncardiovascular mortality at 5 years, with predictors identified through Fine-Gray models. The Kaplan-Meier estimate for 7-year all-cause mortality in our cohort was 67%; this was driven by a number of co-morbidities including congestive heart failure and liver disease. We found that cardiovascular death was more likely for approximately the first 2 years post-TAVI whereas noncardiovascular death was more likely from this point to the end of the study. We identified a number of factors that uniquely modified the risk of either cardiovascular or noncardiovascular mortality. Only 1.6% of patients who underwent repeat intervention. The distinct factors associated with cardiovascular versus noncardiovascular death suggest different approaches to short-term and long-term surveillance of patients post-TAVI by both the heart team and primary care providers.