Prevalence and Prognostic Significance of Malnutrition in Older Japanese Adults at High Surgical Risk Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation

BACKGROUND: The usefulness of preprocedural nutritional status to stratify prognosis after transcatheter aortic valve implantation has been evaluated; however, the studies conducted so far have been relatively small and/or focused on a single nutritional index. This study sought to assess the prevalence and prognostic impact of malnutrition in patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation. METHODS AND RESULTS: We applied the Controlling Nutritional Status score, Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index, and Prognostic Nutritional Index to 1040 consecutive older Japanese patients at high surgical risk who underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation. According to the Controlling Nutritional Status score, Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index, and Prognostic Nutritional Index, 16.6%, 60.5%, and 13.8% patients had moderate or severe malnutrition, respectively; 89.3% were at least mildly malnourished by at least 1 score. Worse nutritional status was associated with older age, lower body mass index, higher degree of frailty, worse symptoms and renal function, atrial fibrillation, and anemia. During a median follow‐up of 986 days (interquartile range, 556–1402 days), 273 (26.3%) patients died. Compared with normal nutrition, malnutrition was associated with an increased risk for all‐cause death (adjusted hazard ratio for moderate and severe malnutrition, respectively: 2.19 (95% CI, 1.45–3.31; P<0.001) and 6.13 (95% CI, 2.75–13.70; P<0.001) for the Controlling Nutritional Status score, 2.02 (95% CI, 1.36–3.02; P=0.001) and 3.24 (95% CI, 1.86–5.65; P<0.001) for the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index, and 1.60 (95% CI, 1.06–2.39; P=0.024) and 2.32 (95% CI, 1.50–3.60; P<0.001) for the Prognostic Nutritional Index). CONCLUSIONS: Malnutrition is common in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation and is associated with increased mortality.