Outcomes of mitral TEER in non-responders to cardiac resynchronization therapy: A systematic review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Secondary mitral regurgitation (MR) worsens in 10-15 % of heart failure (HF) patients receiving cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) with Mitra-Clip (Abbot Vascular, Santa Clara, CA, USA) therapy is associated with improved survival and decreased rates of hospitalization for HF in selected patients with secondary MR. Data on TEER outcomes in CRT-non-responders are limited. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate outcomes of mitral TEER with Mitra-Clip in CRT-non-responders. METHODS: Cochrane, Scopus, MEDLINE, and EMBASE were searched for studies discussing outcomes of Mitra-Clip in CRT non-responders. Two reviewers were independently involved in screening studies and extracting relevant data. Individual study incidence rate estimates underwent logit transformation to calculate the weighted summary proportion under the random effect model. RESULTS: A total of eight reports met the inclusion criteria (439 patients). Mitra-Clip improved MR grade to ≤2+ in 83.8 % and 86.8 % of CRT non-responders at six months and one year, respectively. Symptomatic improvement (New York Heart Association class ≤II) was also found in 71 % and 78.1 % of CRT non-responders at six months and one year, respectively. The pooled overall incidence estimates of mortality at 30 days, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years were 3.6 %, 9.2 %, 17.8 %, and 25.9 %, respectively. CONCLUSION: TEER with Mitra-Clip in patients with significant secondary MR who do not respond to CRT was associated with MR improvement, alleviation of symptoms, and mortality rates similar to those in the COAPT trial.

Effect of TAVR Approach and Other Baseline Factors on the Incidence of Acute Kidney Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a well-known complication following a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and is associated with higher morbidity and mortality. Objective: We aim to compare the risk of developing AKI after transfemoral (TF), transapical (TA), and transaortic (TAo) approaches following TAVR. Methods: We searched Medline and EMBASE databases from January 2009 to January 2021. We included studies that evaluated the risk of AKI based on different TAVR approaches. After extracting each study's data, we calculated the risk ratio and 95% confidence intervals using RevMan software 5.4. Publication bias was assessed by the forest plot. Results: Thirty-six (36) studies, consisting of 70,406 patients undergoing TAVR were included. Thirty-five studies compared TF to TA, and only seven investigations compared TF to TAo. AKI was documented in 4,857 out of 50,395 (9.6%) patients that underwent TF TAVR compared to 3,155 out of 19,721 (16%) patients who underwent TA-TAVR, with a risk ratio of 0.49 (95% CI, 0.36-0.66; p < 0.00001). Likewise, 273 patients developed AKI out of the 1,840 patients (14.8%) that underwent TF-TAVR in contrast to 67 patients out of the 421 patients (15.9%) that underwent TAo-TAVR, with a risk ratio of 0.51 (95% CI, 0.27-0.98; p = 0.04). There was no significant risk when we compared TA to TAo approaches, with a risk ratio of 0.89 (95% CI, 0.29-2.75; p = 0.84). Conclusion: The risk of post-TAVR AKI is significantly lower in patients who underwent TF-TAVR than those who underwent TA-TAVR or TAo-TAVR.

Efficacy of ICD/CRT-D Remote Monitoring in Patients With HFrEF: a Bayesian Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To evaluate remote monitoring using implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) or cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D) devices as an adjunctive tool to the traditional care of patients with heart failure (HF). RECENT FINDINGS: We included 11 trials encompassing 5965 patients. Absolute risk difference (ARD) with 95% credible interval (CrI) was estimated. Pooled (posterior) risk difference was computed using Bayesian hierarchical methods. The ARD for mortality was centered at - 0.01 (95% CrI: - 0.03; 0.01, Tau: 0.02), with an 82% probability of ARD of ICD/CRT-D remote monitoring with respect to control being less than 0. The ARD for cardiovascular mortality was centered at - 0.03 (95% CrI: - 0.11; 0.05, Tau: 0.10), with an 84% probability of ARD of ICD/CRT-D remote monitoring with respect to control being less than 0. ICD/CRT-D remote monitoring in patients with HF is associated with a higher probability of reduced all-cause and cardiovascular mortality compared with standard care alone.

P2Y12 Inhibitors versus Aspirin Monotherapy for Long-term Secondary Prevention of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Events: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Patients with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) need long-term antiplatelet therapy to decrease the risk of future ASCVD events. We searched PubMed, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov (inception through September 2021) for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating P2Y12 inhibitors vs aspirin for secondary prevention of ASCVD events. Seven RCTs including a total of 56,982 patients were included in this analysis. The median follow-up duration was 22.8 (IQR 12) months. When P2Y12 inhibitors were compared with aspirin as long-term antiplatelet therapy for secondary prevention of ASCVD events, there was a significant decrease in the risk of myocardial infarction [RR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.72-0.94], and stroke [RR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.83-0.99]. However, there was no significant difference in all-cause mortality [RR: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.92-1.12], or cardiovascular mortality [RR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.83-1.08] between P2Y12 inhibitors and aspirin users. Additionally, there was no significant difference in major bleeding events [RR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.74-1.04], or all bleeding events [RR: 1.09; 95% CI: 0.90-1.33] between P2Y12 inhibitors and aspirin groups. Use of P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy is associated with lower rates of myocardial infarction and stroke in ASCVD patients without any significant difference in mortality, or bleeding compared to aspirin monotherapy.

Re-Endothelialization of Decellularized Liver Scaffolds: A Step for Bioengineered Liver Transplantation.

Bioengineered livers (BELs) are an attractive therapeutic alternative to address the donor organ shortage for liver transplantation. The goal of BELs technology aims at replacement or regeneration of the native human liver. A variety of approaches have been proposed for tissue engineering of transplantable livers; the current review will highlight the decellularization-recellularization approach to BELs. For example, vascular patency and appropriate cell distribution and expansion are critical components in the production of successful BELs. Proper solutions to these components of BELs have challenged its development. Several strategies, such as heparin immobilization, heparin-gelatin, REDV peptide, and anti-CD31 aptamer have been developed to extend the vascular patency of revascularized bioengineered livers (rBELs). Other novel methods have been developed to enhance cell seeding of parenchymal cells and to increase graft functionality during both bench and in vivo perfusion. These enhanced methods have been associated with up to 15 days of survival in large animal (porcine) models of heterotopic transplantation but have not yet permitted extended survival after implantation of BELs in the orthotopic position. This review will highlight both the remaining challenges and the potential for clinical application of functional bioengineered grafts.

Association of Cirrhosis and Other Patient and Procedural Characteristics With Postembolization Syndrome After Bland Hepatic Artery Embolization for Hepatic Malignancy.

BACKGROUND. Patients who undergo bland hepatic artery embolization (HAE) for the treatment of hepatic malignancy may undergo routine overnight postprocedure hospitalization to monitor for postembolization syndrome (PES) given the potential for ischemic injury from HAE to lead to rapid onset of PES. In our experience, PES after HAE is more frequent in patients without cirrhosis. OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of cirrhosis and other patient and procedural characteristics in predicting the development of PES after bland HAE performed for the treatment of hepatic malignancy. METHODS. This retrospective study included 167 patients (122 men and 45 women; mean age, 63.5 ± 13.1 [SD] years) who underwent a total of 248 bland HAE procedures to treat primary or secondary hepatic malignancy. All patients were hospitalized for 24 hours of observation after HAE to monitor for and manage PES symptoms. PES severity was graded using the Southwest Oncology Group's toxicity coding scale. Patient and procedural characteristics were recorded. Associations with the development of PES were explored. A risk model to predict the risk of PES was constructed using independent predictors of PES in multivariable analysis. RESULTS. PES developed after 51.2% (127/248) of procedures; 23 cases were mild, 50 were moderate, and 54 were severe. PES developed in 32.1% (45/140) of patients with cirrhosis versus 75.9% (82/108) of patients without cirrhosis, whereas severe PES developed in 10.0% (14/140) versus 37.0% (40/108) of such patients, respectively. In multivariable analysis (which controlled for primary versus secondary malignancy, comorbidities, pre-procedure laboratory values, size and multiplicity of treated lesions, lobar vs segmental embolization, embolized artery, and embolic material used), independent predictors of lower likelihood of PES were older age (OR = 0.95 [95% CI, 0.92-0.99]), cirrhosis (OR = 0.26 [95% CI, 0.11-0.64]), and primary hepatic malignancy (OR = 0.34 [95% CI, 0.13-0.93]); the only independent predictor of a higher likelihood of PES was embolization of 50% or more of liver volume (OR = 4.29 [95% CI, 1.89-10.18]). A risk model using these factors had sensitivity of 75.6% and specificity of 76.0% for predicting PES. CONCLUSION. Cirrhosis was associated with a decreased risk of PES after bland HAE performed for the treatment of hepatic malignancy. A risk model combining cirrhosis and other factors had good performance in predicting the risk of PES. CLINICAL IMPACT. These findings may be applied to the selection of patients for early discharge after bland HAE, to avoid the need for overnight inpatient monitoring.