Immediate and long-term need for permanent cardiac pacing following aortic valve replacement.

Introduction: Atrioventricular (AV) node conduction disturbances are common following surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR), and in some cases the patient needs a permanent pacemaker (PPM) implantation before discharge from hospital. Little is known about the long-term need for PPM and the PPM dependency of these individuals. We determined the incidence of PPM implantation before and after discharge in SAVR patients. Methods: We studied 557 consecutive patients who underwent SAVR for aortic stenosis in Iceland between 2002 and 2016. Timing and indication for PPM were registered, with a new concept, ventricular pacing proportion (VPP), defined as ventricular pacing ≥90% of the time, being used to approximate pacemaker dependency. The median follow-up time was 73 months. We plotted the cumulative incidence of pacemaker implantation, treating death as a competing risk. Results: Of the 557 patients, 22 (3.9%) received PPM in the first 30 days after surgery, most commonly for complete AV block (n = 14) or symptomatic bradycardia (n = 8); Thirty-eight other patients (6.8%) had a PPM implanted >30 days postoperatively, at a median of 43 months after surgery (range 0‒181), most often for AV block (n = 13) or sick-sinus syndrome (n = 10). The cumulative incidence of PPM implantation at 1, 5, and 10 years postoperatively was 5.0%, 9.2%, and 12.3%, respectively. During follow-up, 45.0% of the 60 patients had VPP ≥90%. Conclusion: The cumulative incidence of permanent pacemaker implantation following SAVR was about 12% at 10 years, with every other patient having VPP ≥90% during follow-up. This suggests that AV node conduction disturbances extend significantly beyond the perioperative period.

Favorable Survival after Aortic Valve Replacement Compared to the General Population.

BACKGROUND: A comparison was made between the long-term survival of patients undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR) for aortic stenosis and of the general Icelandic population, using centralized registries. METHODS: A total of 366 AVR patients (231 males, 135 females; mean age 70.1 years) operated on for aortic stenosis in Iceland between 2002 and 2011 was included in the study. Concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting was performed in 54% of cases. Short-term complications and 30-day mortality were analyzed. The patients' overall survival was compared with the survival of Icelanders of the same age and gender. The median follow up was 4.7 years. RESULTS: A bioprosthesis was used in 81% of the patients; the median prosthesis size was 25 mm. Atrial fibrillation (68%) and acute kidney injury (23%) were the most common complications, and the 30-day operative mortality was 6%. Overall survival at one year and five years was 92% and 82%, respectively. There was no difference in survival between the surgical cohorts and expected survival of Icelanders of the same age and gender (p = 0.08), except for the first 30 postoperative days. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the significant rate of short-term complications, the long-term survival of patients undergoing AVR for aortic stenosis was good compared to the general population of the same age and gender. These results confirmed the value of AVR as an excellent treatment option for aortic stenosis, as it offers a normalization of the patients' life expectancy.

Incidental detection by computed tomography is an independent prognostic factor for survival in patients operated for nonsmall cell lung carcinoma.

We studied the rate of incidental detection of lung carcinomas and its effect on long-term survival in a nationwide cohort of patients operated for nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). All patients operated for NSCLC in Iceland during 1991-2010 were included. Demographic and clinicopathological features were compared in patients diagnosed incidentally using chest radiography or computed tomography (CT), and in those with symptomatic presentation. Multivariate analysis was used to evaluate prognostic factors. Out of 508 patients, 174 (34%) were diagnosed incidentally; in 26% of cases by chest radiography and in 8% by CT. The CT-detected tumours were significantly smaller than symptomatic tumours, diagnosed at earlier TNM (tumour, node and metastasis) stages and more often of adenocarcinoma histology. 5-year cancer-specific survival for symptomatic versus incidentally diagnosed patients detected by chest radiography and CT was 41%, 57% and 68%, respectively (p=0.003). After adjusting for stage, the hazard ratio (HR) for NSCLC mortality was significantly lower for incidental diagnosis by CT (HR 0.55, 95% CI 0.31‒0.98; p=0.04) compared to incidental diagnosis by chest radiography (HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.70‒1.27; p=0.71) or symptomatic diagnosis (HR 1.0). One-third of surgically treated NSCLCs were detected incidentally, with an increasing rate of incidental CT diagnosis. NSCLC patients diagnosed incidentally by CT appear to have better survival than those diagnosed incidentally by chest radiography, and particularly those who present with symptoms.

Acute kidney injury and outcome following aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis.

OBJECTIVES: Most studies on acute kidney injury (AKI) following open-heart surgery have focused on short-term outcome following coronary artery bypass grafting. We reviewed the incidence, risk factors and outcome, including long-term survival, of AKI after aortic valve replacement (AVR) in a population-based cohort. METHODS: A retrospective review of 365 patients who underwent AVR for aortic stenosis during 2002-2011 was made. AKI was defined according to the RIFLE criteria. All patients requiring dialysis were followed up in a centralized registry. Risk factors for AKI were analysed with univariable and multivariable analysis, and survival was graphically presented with the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: The rate of AKI was 82/365 (22.5%); 40, 28 and 14 patients belonging to the Risk, Injury and Failure groups, respectively. Preoperatively, 37 (45.1%) AKI patients had reduced kidney function. Transfusion of red blood cells, obesity and prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass time were independent risk factors for AKI. Acute postoperative dialysis was required in 15 patients (4.1%), and 1 patient developed dialysis-dependent end-stage renal disease. Major postoperative complications were more common in the AKI group (65 vs 22%, P < 0.001). The 30-day mortality rate in the AKI group was 18%, as opposed to 2% in the non-AKI group (P < 0.001), with a 5-year survival rate of 66 vs 87%, respectively (P < 0.001). In multivariable analysis AKI was an independent predictor of operative mortality [odds ratio = 5.89, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.99-18.91] but not of long-term survival (hazard ratio = 1.44, 95% CI = 0.86-2.42). CONCLUSIONS: More than 1 in 5 patients (22.5%) who underwent AVR developed AKI postoperatively. AKI was associated with higher morbidity and was an independent predictor of operative mortality. However, AKI was not a determinant of long-term survival.