In-hospital Outcomes and the Impact of Transfer Status in Nonelective vs Elective Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

BACKGROUND: Nonelective transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) requires additional research to be fully understood. METHODS: Using the National Inpatient Sample database (2016-2019), we conducted a retrospective cohort study comparing nonelective vs elective TAVR. The primary outcome of interest was the in-hospital mortality rate among patients undergoing nonelective TAVR, compared to that among patients undergoing elective TAVR. We matched patients in a greedy nearest-neighbor 1:1 model and multivariable logistic regression, which was adjusted for demographics, hospital factors, and comorbidities, and was used to compare mortality in our matched cohort. RESULTS: Each cohort had 4389 patients in each cohort. When adjusted for age, race, sex, and comorbidities, nonelective TAVR patients had 1.99 times higher odds of suffering in-hospital mortality compared to elective admissions (adjusted odds ratio 1.99, 95% confidence interval: 1.42-2.81; P < 0.001). When separated by transfer status, nonelective patients admitted as regular hospital admissions or transferred from other acute-care centres also had higher odds of suffering in-hospital mortality compared to elective admissions. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings illustrate that nonelective TAVR patients are a vulnerable population that require additional medical support in the acute-care setting. As the demand for TAVR increases, further discussions regarding access to healthcare in underserved regions, the national physician shortage, and the future of the TAVR industry are imperative.