European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · May 2013
Transapical aortic valve replacement in extreme-risk patients: outcome, risk factors and mid-term results.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) provides good results in selected high-risk patients. However, it is unclear whether this procedure carries advantages in extreme-risk profile patients with logistic EuroSCORE above 35%. ⋯ TA-TAVR in extreme-risk patients carries a moderate risk of hospital mortality. Severe comorbidities and presence of residual paravalvular leakages affect the mid-term survival, whereas surviving patients have an acceptable quality of life without rehospitalizations for cardiac decompensation.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · May 2013
Diagnosis of infection in paediatric veno-arterial cardiac extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: role of procalcitonin and C-reactive protein.
Plasma concentration of procalcitonin (PCT) and its value in the diagnosis of infection in paediatric patients treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are undefined. This study aimed to define the levels of PCT and C-reactive protein (CRP) in paediatric cardiac ECMO patients and to determine their role in predicting infection, severity of organ dysfunction and clinical outcome. ⋯ Neither PCT nor CRP are reliable markers of infection in paediatric cardiac ECMO patients. However, high levels of PCT are associated with MODS. PCT may be used as a prognostic indicator of clinical outcome in this high-risk population.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · May 2013
German Aortic Valve Score: a new scoring system for prediction of mortality related to aortic valve procedures in adults.
The aim of the study was to establish a scoring system to predict mortality in aortic valve procedures in adults [German Aortic Valve Score (German AV Score)] based upon the comprehensive data pool mandatory by law in Germany. ⋯ It is well known that a predictive model works best in the setting where it was developed; therefore, the German AV Score fits well to the patient population in Germany. It was designed for fair and reliable outcome evaluation. It allows comparison of predicted and observed mortality for conventional aortic valve surgery and transcatheter aortic valve implantation in low-, moderate- and high-risk groups. Thus, it enables primarily a risk-adjusted benchmark of outcome and fosters the efforts for continuous improvement of quality in aortic valve procedures.