Transcatheter mitral paravalvular closure: a single centre experience with techniques and outcomes.

BACKGROUND: In patients with symptomatic mitral PVL, successful transcatheter reduction of the PVL to less than mild is associated with significant improvement in short- and midterm survival. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we present our single-centre, same operators' experience on percutaneous paravalvular leak closure with techniques and outcomes. METHODS: In this retrospective observational designed study, we retrieved hospital records of patients with a surgical history of mechanical or biological prosthetic valve replacement and who subsequently underwent transcatheter mitral paravalvular leak closure (TMPLC). All procedures were performed by the same operators. RESULTS: A total of 45 patients with 58 PVDs underwent TMPLC using 60 devices. All patients had moderate or severe mitral paravalvular regurgitation associated with symptomatic HF (15.6%), clinically significant haemolytic anaemia (57.8%) or both (26.7%). The technical success rate was 91.4%, with 53 defects successfully occluded. The clinical success rate was 75.6%. Among the clinical success parameters, the preprocedural median ejection fraction increased from 45% (35-55) to 50% (40-55) (p = .04). Mitral gradients decreased from max/mean 18/8 mmHg to max/mean 16/7 mmHg; p = .02). Haemoglobin levels increased from 9.9 (8.5-11.1) to 11.1 (3-13); p = .003. LDH levels decreased from 875 (556-1125) to 435 (314-579); p: <.001. All-cause 30-day and in-hospital mortality rates were the same at 8.9%. CONCLUSION: This single-centre study with a limited number of patients confirmed that TMPLC is a safe and effective procedure to improve symptoms and severity of PVL.

Native and Prosthetic Simultaneously Double Valve Infective Endocarditis with Enterococcus faecalis-Case-Based Review.

Infective endocarditis is a severe infective heart disease, commonly involving native or prosthetic valves. It frequently presents with univalvular involvement and simultaneous double valve or multivalvular involvement is rarely described. The third leading cause of infective endocarditis worldwide is Enterococcus faecalis, which is associated with high mortality rates despite important advances in antimicrobial therapy. It develops secondary to enterococcal bacteremia, with its origin from the gastrointestinal or genitourinary tract and predominantly affecting the elderly population with multiple comorbidities. Clinical presentation is usually less typical, and the treatment is challenging. It can be marked by antibiotic resistance, side effects, and subsequent complications. Surgical treatment can be considered if deemed appropriate. To the best of our knowledge, we present the first case-based narrative review of Enterococcus faecalis double valve endocarditis involving both the aortic native and prosthetic mitral valve, highlighting the clinical characteristics, treatment, and complications of this condition.

Utility and feasibility of the CartoUnivu™ system for atrial flutter ablation in patients with mechanical prosthetic valves.

Ablation of macroreentrant atrial tachycardia in patients with mechanical prosthetic valves represents a challenge for electrophysiologists, because of the complexity of the procedure and the potential complications. Moreover, the need for fluoroscopy in this type of procedure is greater, due to the risk of interference between the prosthetic valve and the ablation or mapping catheter. We present two cases of patients with mechanical prosthetic valves and atrial flutter who underwent successful ablation with no complications using the CartoUnivu™ tool, which integrates the electroanatomical map and the fluoroscopy image.

Predicting the outcome of transcatheter mitral valve implantation using image-based computational models.

BACKGROUND: The appropriate placement and size selection of mitral prostheses in transcatheter mitral valve implantation (TMVI) is critical, as encroachment on the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) may lead to flow obstruction. Recent advances in computed tomography (CT) can be employed for pre-procedural planning of mitral prosthetic valve placement. This study aims to develop patient-specific computational fluid dynamics models of the left ventricle (LV) in the presence of a mitral valve prosthesis to investigate blood flow and LVOT pressure gradient during systole. METHODS: Patient-specific computational fluid dynamics simulations of TMVI with varied cardiac anatomy and insertion angles were performed (n = 30). Wide-volume full cycle cardiovascular CT images prior to TMVI were used as source anatomical data (n = 6 patients). Blood movement was governed by Navier-Stokes equations and the LV endocardial wall deformation was derived from each patient's CT images. RESULTS: The computed pressure gradients in the presence of the mitral prosthesis compared well with clinically measured gradients. Analysis of the effects of prosthetic valve angulation, aorto-mitral annular angle, ejection fraction, LV size and new LVOT area (neo-LVOT) after TMVI in silico revealed that the neo-LVOT area (p < 0.001) was the most significant factor affecting LVOT pressure gradient. Angulation of the mitral valve can substantially mitigate LVOT gradient. CONCLUSIONS: Computational fluid dynamics simulation is a promising method to aid in pre-TMVI planning and understanding the factors underlying LVOT obstruction.