Despite the inherent challenges associated with treating patients a during a public health emergency, a new analysis indicates that transcatheter aortic valve repair (TAVR) procedures have been safe and effective during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Researchers compared patient outcomes from 2019 with data from the pandemic’s first four months, sharing their findings in the American Journal of Cardiology.
All patients received care at the same tertiary care hospital in Israel. Once the pandemic began, physicians followed all applicable recommendations made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization. Patients were screened for COVID-19 according to CDC guidelines, for example, and personal protective equipment was used as detailed by the WHO.
The hospital made other adjustments as well, focusing on a more minimalistic approach and getting patients discharged early when possible.
Looking at the two groups of patients, one key difference was that patients treated during the pandemic were more likely to be on anticoagulant therapy. Other patient factors, including age and various comorbidities, were similar between the two patient groups.
Overall, the study’s authors found that they achieved “excellent” outcomes in the face of these latest challenges. There was a high level of success both before (93%) and during the pandemic (97%). While 4% of pre-COVID-19 patients experienced a major vascular complication, no patients experienced such a complication during the pandemic. Bleeding events were also more likely among pre-COVID-19 patients. Mortality after 30 days was 3% for both patient populations.
Also, the authors emphasized, no patients treated during the pandemic were infected with COVID-19 from the time of the procedure to the time of the very last follow-up appointment.
“We hope that early experience from our center may prove useful for others adapting their practice in preparation for local COVID-19 surges,” wrote lead author Martín Valdebenito, MD, an interventional cardiologist at Chaim Sheba Medical Center in Israel, and colleagues.
Read the full study here.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.