Unveiling Cardiac Amyloidosis, its Characteristics, and Outcomes Among Patients With MR Undergoing Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge MV Repair.

BACKGROUND: Mitral regurgitation (MR) and cardiac amyloidosis (CA) both primarily affect older patients. Data on coexistence and prognostic implications of MR and CA are currently lacking. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to identify the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of MR CA compared with lone MR. METHODS: Consecutive patients undergoing transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) for MR at 2 sites were screened for concomitant CA using a multiparametric approach including core laboratory 99mTc-3,3-diphosphono-1,2-propanodicarboxylic acid bone scintigraphy and echocardiography and immunoglobulin light chain assessment. Transthyretin CA (ATTR) was diagnosed by 99mTc-3,3-diphosphono-1,2-propanodicarboxylic acid (Perugini grade 1: early infiltration; grades 2/3: clinical CA) and the absence of monoclonal protein, and light chain (AL) CA via tissue biopsy. All-cause mortality and hospitalization for heart failure (HHF) served as the endpoints. RESULTS: A total of 120 patients (age 76.9 ± 8.1 years, 55.8% male) were recruited. Clinical CA was diagnosed in 14 patients (11.7%; 12 ATTR, 1 AL, and 1 combined ATTR/AL) and early amyloid infiltration in 9 patients (7.5%). Independent predictors of MR CA were increased posterior wall thickness and the presence of a left anterior fascicular block on electrocardiography. Procedural success and periprocedural complications of TEER were similar in MR CA and lone MR (P for all = NS). After a median of 1.7 years, 25.8% had experienced death and/or HHF. MR CA had worse outcomes compared with lone MR (HR: 2.2; 95% CI: 1.0-4.7; P = 0.034), driven by a 2.5-fold higher risk for HHF (HR: 2.5; 95% CI: 1.1-5.9), but comparable mortality (HR: 1.6; 95% CI: 0.4-6.1). CONCLUSIONS: Dual pathology of MR CA is common in elderly patients with MR undergoing TEER and has worse postinterventional outcomes compared with lone MR.

Urinary neprilysin for early detection of acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery: A prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) predicts adverse outcomes after cardiac surgery. The accuracy of using changes in serum creatinine for diagnosis and grading of AKI is limited in the peri-operative cardiac surgical setting and AKI may be underdiagnosed due to haemodilution from cardiopulmonary bypass priming and the need for intra-operative and postoperative volume resuscitation. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether the urinary biomarker neprilysin can be used as a marker for the early detection of AKI after cardiac surgery. DESIGN: Prospective, observational cohort study. SETTING: Austrian tertiary referral centre. PATIENTS: 96 Patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Differences and discriminatory power of neprilysin levels early after cardiac surgery and on postoperative day 1 between patients with or without AKI, as defined by the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes Group. RESULTS: AKI was found in 27% (n=26). The median neprilysin levels on postoperative day 1 were significantly higher in the AKI than in the non-AKI group, 4.0 [interquartile range (IQR): 2 to 6.25] vs. 2.0 ng ml [IQR: 1.0 to 4.5], P = 0.0246, respectively. In addition, the median neprilysin levels at the end of surgery were significantly different between both groups, 5.0 [IQR: 2.0 to 9.0] vs. 2.0 ng ml [IQR: 1.0 to 4.0], P = 0.0055, respectively. The discriminatory power of neprilysin for detecting early AKI corresponded to an area under the curve of 0.77 (95% confidence interval, 0.65 to 0.90). CONCLUSION: Urinary neprilysin has potential as a biomarker for the early detection of AKI after cardiac surgery and has comparable discriminatory power to recently studied AKI biomarkers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03854825, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03854825).