Intensive Care Admissions and Outcome of Cardiac Arrests; A National Cohort Study From the United States.

OBJECTIVE: Outcomes of cardiac arrest among patients who had cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in intensive care units (ICU) has limited data on the national level basis in the United States. We aimed to study the outcomes of ICU CPRs. METHODS: Data from the national readmissions database (NRD) sample that constitutes 49.1% of the stratified sample of all hospitals in the United States were analyzed for ICU-related hospitalizations for the years 2016 to 2019. ICU CPR was defined by procedure codes. RESULTS: A total of 4,610,154 ICU encounters were reported for the years 2016 to 2019 in the NRD. Of these patients, 426,729 (9.26%) had CPR procedure recorded during the hospital encounter (mean age 65 ± 17.81; female 42.4%). And 167,597 (39.29%) patients had CPR on the day of admission, of which 63.16% died; while 64,752 (15.18%) patients had CPR on the day of ICU admission, of which 72.85% died. And 36,002 (8.44%) had CPR among patients with length of stay 2 days, of which 73.34% died. A total of 1,222,799 (26.5%) admitted to ICU died, and patients who had ICU CPR had higher mortality, 291,391(68.3%). Higher complication rates were observed among ICU CPR patients, especially who died. Over the years from 2016 to 2019, ICU CPR rates increased from 8.18% (2016) to 8.66% (2019); p-trend = 0.001. The mortality rates among patients admitted to ICU increased from 22.1% (2016) to 24.1% (2019); p-trend = 0.005. CONCLUSION: The majority of ICU CPRs were done on the first day of ICU admission. The trend for ICU CPR was increasing. The mortality trend for overall ICU admissions has increased, which is concerning and would suggest further research to improve the high mortality rates in the CPR group.

Sex-based treatment and outcomes for coronary bifurcation stenting: A report from the e-ULTIMASTER registry.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for bifurcation lesions can be technically challenging and is associated with higher risk. There is little data on sex-based differences in strategy and outcomes in bifurcation PCI. AIMS: We sought to assess whether differences exist between women and men in the treatment and outcomes of bifurcation PCI. METHODS: We collected data on 4006 patients undergoing bifurcation PCI, from the e-ULTIMASTER study, a prospective, multicentre study enrolling patients from 2014 to 2018. We divided the bifurcation cohort according to sex, with 1-year follow-up of outcomes (target lesion failure [TLF], target vessel failure [TVF], and patient-oriented composite endpoint [POCE]). FINDINGS: Women were older (69.2 ± 10.9 years vs. 64.4 ± 11.0 years), with a greater burden of cardiovascular comorbidities. For true and non-true bifurcation lesions, women and men were equally likely to undergo a single stent approach (true: 63.2% vs. 63.6%, p = 0.79, non-true: 95.4% vs. 94.3%, p = 0.32), with similar rates of final kissing balloon (FKB) (37.2% vs. 35.5%, p = 0.36) and proximal optimization (POT) (34.4% vs. 34.2%, p = 0.93) in cases where two stents were used. Lastly, after propensity score matching, there was no difference between women and men in the incidence of the composite endpoints of TLF (5.5% vs. 5.2%, RR 1.05 [95% CI 0.77-1.44], p = 0.75), TVF (6.2% vs. 6.3%, RR 0.99 [95% CI 0.74-1.32], p = 0.96), and POCE (9.9% vs. 9.5%, RR 1.05 [95% CI 0.83-1.31], p = 0.70). CONCLUSION: In this contemporary, real-world study of bifurcation PCI, we report no difference in stent strategy between women and men, with similar outcomes at 1-year.

Outcomes of Cardiac Arrest with Valve Surgery Among Infective Endocarditis Patients: A United States National Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: Cardiac arrest can complicate infective endocarditis (IE) and is associated with significant in-hospital complications and mortality rates. We report the characteristics, outcomes, and readmission rates for IE patients with cardiac arrest in the United States. METHODS: We surveyed the Nationwide Readmission Database (NRD), a database designed to support national level readmission analyses, for patients admitted with IE and who had cardiac arrest during index admission between 2016 and 2019. Baseline demographics, comorbidities, surgical procedures, and outcomes were identified using their respective International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes. RESULTS: There were 663 index admissions (mean age 55.87 ± 17.21 years;34.2 % females) for IE with cardiac arrest in the study period, with an overall mortality rate of 55.3 %. Of these, 270 (40.7 %) had surgical procedures performed during the hospitalization encounter. In patients who had a surgical procedure, 72 (26.8 %) patients had in-hospital mortality while 293 (74.9 %) patients without surgical procedures had in-hospital mortality (p < 0.001). After coarsened matching for baseline characteristics, surgical valve procedures were less likely to be associated with mortality (OR = 0.09, 95%CI 0.04-0.24; p < 0.001). Among the 295 alive discharges associated with cardiac arrest, 76 (38.57 %) were readmitted within 30-days, with a mortality rate of 22 % noted for readmissions. CONCLUSION: Among IE patients who had cardiac arrest, surgical procedures subgroup had low mortality despite having higher complication rates. However, due to chances of bias more randomized trials are needed evaluate the hypothesis.

Mortality outcomes and 30-day readmissions associated with coronary artery aneurysms; a National Database Study.

BACKGROUND: The literature on prevalence and outcomes of coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) in the United States (US) is limited. OBJECTIVE: To study the prevalence, outcomes, and trends of CAA. METHODS: Data from the national readmissions database (NRD) sample that constitutes 49.1% of the stratified sample of all hospitals in the US were analyzed for CAA among coronary angiography (CA) related hospitalizations for the years 2012-2018. RESULTS: A total of 6,843,910 index CA related hospitalizations were recorded for the years 2012-2018 in the NRD (Mean age 64.37 ± 13.30 years' 38.6% females). Of these 9671 (0.141%) were CAA, 5092 (52.7%) without-ACS and 4579 (47.3%) with ACS [NSTEMI occurred in 2907(63.5%) and STEMI in 1672(36.5%)]. In-hospital mortality among CAA was comparable to those without-CAA on angiography (n-209,2.17% vs n = 175,120,2.56%;p = 0.08). CAA patients who presented with ACS vs those without ACS had higher mortality (n = 150,3.28%vsn = 60,1.16%;p < 0.001) cardiogenic shock 6.9%vs2%, ventricular arrythmias 9.2%vs5.2%, coronary dissection 58%vs42.7%, and need for mechanical circulatory support 7%vs2.7% respectively. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was performed among 45.2% patients; however, on coarsened exact matching of baseline characteristics, PCI had no association with mortality, patients (OR 1.22, 95%CI0.69-2.16, p = 0.49). The prevalence of CAA on CA trend towards increased mortality with ACS increased over the years 2012-2018 (linear p-trend <0.05). The 30-day readmissions rate were 13.8% (non-CAA) vs 4.6% (CAA) p = 0.001 predominantly cardiovascular causes (50.9%vs70.7%) and PCI on readmission (7.06%vs17.5%). CONCLUSION: CAA is an uncommon anomaly noted on coronary angiography. The higher mortality in patients with ACS and increasing trend of CAA-ACS warrants more research.

Meta-Analysis Comparing Outcomes With Bifurcation Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Techniques.

There have been mixed results regarding the efficacy and safety of various percutaneous coronary intervention bifurcation techniques. An electronic search of Medline, Scopus, and Cochrane databases was performed for randomized controlled trials that compared the outcomes of any bifurcation techniques. We conducted a pairwise meta-analysis comparing the 1-stent versus 2-stent bifurcation approach, and a network meta-analysis comparing the different bifurcation techniques. The primary outcome was major adverse cardiac events (MACEs). The analysis included 22 randomized trials with 6,359 patients. At a weighted follow-up of 25.9 months, there was no difference in MACE between 1-stent versus 2-stent approaches (risk ratio [RR] 1.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.92 to 1.56). Exploratory analysis suggested a higher risk of MACE with a 1-stent approach in studies using second-generation drug-eluting stents, if side branch lesion length ≥10 mm, and when final kissing balloon was used. There was no difference between 1-stent versus 2-stent approaches in all-cause mortality (RR 0.95, 95% CI 0.69 to 1.30), cardiovascular mortality (RR 1.07, 95% CI 0.68 to 1.68), target vessel revascularization (TVR) (RR 1.22, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.65), myocardial infarction (MI) (RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.69 to 1.56) or stent thrombosis (RR 1.10, 95% CI 0.68 to 1.78). Network meta-analysis demonstrated that double kissing crush technique was associated with lower MACE, MI, TVR, and target lesion revascularization, whereas culotte technique was associated with higher rates of stent thrombosis. In this meta-analysis of randomized trials, we found no difference between 1-stent versus 2-stent bifurcation percutaneous coronary intervention approaches in the risk of MACE during long-term follow-up. Among the various bifurcation techniques, double kissing crush technique was associated with lower rates of MACE, target lesion revascularization, TVR, and MI.

Predictors and outcomes of cardiac arrest in the emergency department and in-patient settings in the United States (2016-2018).

BACKGROUND: Outcomes of cardiac arrest (CA) remain dismal despite therapeutic advances. Literature is limited regarding outcomes of CA in emergency departments (ED). OBJECTIVE: To study the possible causes, predictors, and outcomes of CA in ED and in-patient settings throughout the United States (US). METHODS: Data from the US national emergency department sample (NEDS) was analyzed for the episodes of CA for 2016-2018. In-hospital CA was divided into in-patient (IPCA) and in the ED (EDCA). Only patients who had cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) within the hospital were included in the study (out-of-hospital were excluded). RESULTS: A total of 1,068,847 CA (mean age 63.7 ± 19.4 years, 24%females), of whom 325,062 (30.4%) EDCA and 177,104 (16.6%) IPCA were included in the study. Patients without CPR, 743,785 (69.6%), were excluded. Survival was higher among IPCA 55,821 (31.6%) than the EDCA 32,516 (10%). IPCA encounters had multifactorial associated etiologies including respiratory failure (73%), acidosis (38.7%) sepsis (36.8%) and ST-elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) (7.3%). Majority of ED arrests (67.1%) had no possible identifiable cause. The predominant known causes include intoxication (7.5%), trauma (6.4%), respiratory failure (5%), and STEMI (2.7%). Cardiovascular interventions had significant survival benefits in IPCA on univariate logistic regression after coarsened exact matching for comorbidities. IPCA had higher intervention rates than EDCA. For all live discharges, a total of 40% of patients were discharged to hospice. CONCLUSION: Survival remains dismal among CA patients especially those occurring in the ED. Given that there are considerable variations in the etiology between the two studied cohorts, more research is required to improve the understanding of these factors, which may improve survival outcomes.

ST elevation myocardial infarction and kidney transplant: A large cohort study: STEMI and renal transplant.

BACKGROUND: The literature on outcomes of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) amongst kidney transplant recipients (KTR) is limited. OBJECTIVE: To study the outcomes of STEMI among KTR. METHODS: Data from the national readmissions database (NRD) sample that constitutes 49.1% of the stratified sample of all hospitals in the USA were analyzed for hospitalizations with STEMI among KTR for the years 2012-2018. Complications associated with STEMI were extracted using International Classification of Diseases codes. RESULTS: A total of 588,668 index KTR hospitalizations (mean age 57.67±14.22 years; female 44.5%) of which 3,496 (0.59%) had STEMI were recorded in the NRD for the years 2012-2018. A total of 11,676 (1.98%) patients died during the hospitalization. In-hospital mortality among STEMI was higher, 465 (13.3%), than without-STEMI 11,211 (1.92%). Among the complications, mechanical complications occurred among 1.0% vs 0.02%, cardiogenic shock 10.6 vs 0.3%, ventricular arrythmias 8.3% vs 0.8%, conduction block 6.9% vs 2%, stroke 4.1% vs 1.9%, and acute kidney injury 31.6% vs 28.3% among STEMI and without-STEMI respectively. Among coronary procedures, coronary angiography was performed among 1,999 (57.2%) of which 1,777 (50.8%) had percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). On coarsened exact matching of baseline characteristics, PCI was less likely associated with mortality, odds ratio 0.39 (95% confidence interval 0.24-0.64; p=0.0002). The trends of mortality among STEMI were steady (p-trend 0.11). PCI trend increased (p-trend 0.008) and incidence of STEMI decreased over the study years 2012 (0.66%)-2018(0.474%). A total of 84,810 (14.4%) patients were readmitted in 30 days of which 696 (20%) patients were among the STEMI subgroup. CONCLUSION: STEMI is not an uncommon complication among KTR and is associated with significant mechanical complications. Improvement in cardiovascular risk factors might improve the STEMI rates among KTR.

Risk Stratification Among Survivors of Cardiac Arrest Considered for Coronary Angiography.

BACKGROUND: The American College of Cardiology Interventional Council published consensus-based recommendations to help identify resuscitated cardiac arrest patients with unfavorable clinical features in whom invasive procedures are unlikely to improve survival. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to identify how many unfavorable features are required before prognosis is significantly worsened and which features are most impactful in predicting prognosis. METHODS: Using the INTCAR (International Cardiac Arrest Registry), the impact of each proposed "unfavorable feature" on survival to hospital discharge was individually analyzed. Logistic regression was performed to assess the association of such unfavorable features with poor outcomes. RESULTS: Seven unfavorable features (of 10 total) were captured in 2,508 patients successfully resuscitated after cardiac arrest (ongoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation and noncardiac etiology were exclusion criteria in our registry). Chronic kidney disease was used in lieu of end-stage renal disease. In total, 39% survived to hospital discharge. The odds ratio (OR) of survival to hospital discharge for each unfavorable feature was as follows: age >85 years OR: 0.30 (95% CI: 0.15 to 0.61), time-to-ROSC >30 min OR: 0.30 (95% CI: 0.23 to 0.39), nonshockable rhythm OR: 0.39 (95% CI: 0.29 to 0.54), no bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation OR: 0.49 (95% CI: 0.38 to 0.64), lactate >7 mmol/l OR: 0.50 (95% CI: 0.40 to 0.63), unwitnessed arrest OR: 0.58 (95% CI: 0.44 to 0.78), pH <7.2 OR: 0.78 (95% CI: 0.63 to 0.98), and chronic kidney disease OR: 0.96 (95% CI: 0.70 to 1.33). The presence of any 3 or more unfavorable features predicted <40% survival. Presence of the 3 strongest risk factors (age >85 years, time-to-ROSC >30 min, and non-ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation) together or ≥6 unfavorable features predicted a ≤10% chance of survival to discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Patients successfully resuscitated from cardiac arrest with 6 or more unfavorable features have a poor long-term prognosis. Delaying or even forgoing invasive procedures in such patients is reasonable.

Should Interventional Cardiologists Super-Subspecialize?: Moving From Patient Selection to Operator Selection.

The field of interventional cardiology has expanded rapidly. As a result, four evolving areas have evolved - peripheral vascular interventions, structural heart interventions, adult congenital heart intervention, and chronic total occlusion. The complexity of these procedures and the number of devices available has grown rapidly. In addition, the professional and public expectations of procedural success and of minimizing case-avoidance have also grown. Specific issues include volume-outcome relationships, maintaining currency and proficiency, accessibility to specialized procedures, and the need to maintain a fundamental level of expertise in acute coronary interventions.

Left Main Coronary Interventions: A Practical Guide.

Coronary artery bypass surgery has been the accepted treatment for left main coronary artery disease for over 50 years. Balloon angioplasty was later used then abandoned because of deaths likely due to restenosis or thrombotic occlusion. However, rapid innovations in drug-eluting stent designs leading to more biocompatible thin strut platforms with optimal drug elution profiles and further advances in modern pharmacotherapy involving potent P2Y12 inhibitors combined with utilization of intracoronary imaging and physiologic assessment for procedural planning and optimization have transformed percutaneous interventions into successful alternatives to coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) in selected LM anatomic territories. Herein, we provide an evidence-based practical guide on how to approach and perform LM percutaneous interventions (PCI).

Summary of Practice Considerations for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention of Left Main Bifurcation Disease.

Left main bifurcation percutaneous coronary intervention is a challenging subset that requires expertise in techniques that are in constant modification. Imaging is important in lesion preparation and optimising outcomes. The interventionalist needs to be highly skilled in the different techniques, as missteps may lead to stent thrombosis and critical in-stent restenosis. Lesion classification between simple and complex identifies those who would best benefit from a two-stent technique. Current technical approaches and practice considerations are summarised in this manuscript.

Outcomes of nonemergent percutaneous coronary intervention requiring mechanical circulatory support in patients without cardiogenic shock.

BACKGROUND: The utilization of mechanical circulatory support (MCS) for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using percutaneous ventricular assist device (PVAD) or intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) has been increasing. We sought to evaluate the outcome of coronary intervention using PVAD compared with IABP in noncardiogenic shock and nonacute myocardial infarction patients. METHOD: Using the National Inpatient Sampling (NIS) database from 2005 to 2014, we identified patients who underwent PCI using ICD 9 codes. Patients with cardiogenic shock, acute coronary syndrome, or acute myocardial infarction were excluded. Patient was stratified based on the MCS used, either to PVAD or IABP. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were performed to study PCI outcome using PVAD compared with IABP. RESULTS: Out of 21,848 patients who underwent PCI requiring MCS, 17,270 (79.0%) patients received IABP and 4,578 (21%) patients received PVAD. PVAD patients were older (69 vs. 67, p < .001), were less likely to be women (23.3% vs. 33.3%, p < .001), and had higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia prior PCI, prior coronary artery bypass graft surgery, anemia, chronic lung disease, liver disease, renal failure, and peripheral vascular disease compared with IABP group (p ≤ .007). Using Multivariate logistic regression, PVAD patients had lower in-hospital mortality (6.1% vs. 8.8%, adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.62; 95% CI 0.51, 0.77, p < .001), vascular complications (4.3% vs. 7.5%, aOR 0.78; 95% CI 0.62, 0.99, p = .046), cardiac complications (5.6% vs. 14.5%, aOR 0.29; 95% CI 0.24, 0.36, p < .001), and respiratory complications (3.8% vs. 9.8%, aOR 0.37; 95% CI 0.28, 0.48, p < .001) compared with patients who received IABP. CONCLUSION: Despite higher comorbidities, nonemergent PCI procedures using PVAD were associated with lower mortality compared with IABP.

The Outcomes of Pulmonary Hypertension Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis Who Underwent Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement or Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.

The outcomes for patients who undergo transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) with pulmonary hypertension (PH) is not well understood. We sought to evaluate the outcomes of patients with PH who underwent TAVI compared with SAVR. We identified patients who were diagnosed with PH and underwent TAVI SAVR for aortic valve stenosis in the National Inpatient Sample database who were admitted from 2011 to 2014. Propensity score matching was used to generate 2 matched cohorts for TAVI and SAVR and outcomes were compared using logistic regressions. A total of 36,786 patients were diagnosed with PH and had an intervention for aortic valve stenosis. Twenty six percent underwent TAVI (n = 9,560) and 74% underwent SAVR (n = 27,225). Patients in the TAVI group were older (81.0 vs 68.5, p <0.001) had more women (53.2% vs 45.4%) and less African-American patients (4.6% vs 8.3%; p <0.001 for both). Although both groups had comparable co-morbidities, the TAVI group had higher prevalence of congestive heart failure, chronic pulmonary disease, renal failure, peripheral vascular disease, coronary artery disease, and previous stroke compared with the SAVR group (p ≤0.002). After propensity-score-matching, patients with PH had no statistically significant difference in in-hospital mortality between for TAVI or SAVR procedures (5.6% vs 4.6%, odds ratio [OR] 1.23, confidence interval [CI] 0.92 to 1.66, p = 0.165). However, TAVI patients were less likely to have cardiac complications (15.4% vs 19.9%, OR 0.73, CI 0.61 to 0.87, p = 0.001) and respiratory complications (12.4% vs 25.1%, OR 0.42, CI 0.35 to 0.51, p <0.001). In conclusion, whereas patient with PH who underwent TAVI and SAVR had similar in-hospital mortality, TAVI was associated with lower cardiac, respiratory and bleeding complications compared with SAVR.