Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has emerged as an alternative treatment option for patients with severe aortic stenosis regardless of surgical risk, particularly in those with a high ...and prohibitive risk. Since the advent of TAVR, transfemoral access has been the standard of care. However, given comorbidities and anatomical limitations, a proportion of patients are not good candidates for a transfemoral approach. Alternative access, including transapical, transaortic, transaxillary, transsubclavian, transcarotid, and transcaval, can be considered. Each alternative access has advantages and disadvantages, so the vascular route should be tailored to the patient’s characteristics. However, there is no standardized algorithm when choosing the optimal alternative vascular access. In this review, we analyzed the evolution and current evidence for the most common alternative access for TAVR and proposed an algorithm for choosing the optimal vascular access in this patient population.
Patients with severe symptomatic tricuspid regurgitation face a significant dilemma in treatment options, as the yearly mortality with medical therapy and the surgical mortality for tricuspid repair ...or replacement are high. Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) for the tricuspid valve is becoming a viable option in patients, although procedural success is dependent on high-quality imaging. While transesophageal echocardiography remains the standard for tricuspid TEER procedures, intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) with three-dimensional (3D) multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) has many theoretical and practical advantages. The aim of this article was to describe the in vitro wet lab–based imaging work done to facilitate the best approach to 3D MPR ICE imaging and the procedural experience gained with 3D MPR ICE in tricuspid TEER procedures with the PASCAL device.
In 2022, the Food and Drug Administration approved a second mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair device for the treatment of primary mitral regurgitation (PASCAL Precision Transcatheter Valve ...Repair System, Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA). The PASCAL Precision system consists of a guide sheath, implant system, and accessories. The implant system consists of a steerable catheter, an implant catheter, and the implant (PASCAL or PASCAL Ace). The guide sheath and steerable catheter move and flex independently from each other and are not keyed, allowing for freedom of rotation in three dimensions. This manuscript provides an overview of the PASCAL Precision system and describes the basic and advanced steering maneuvers to facilitate effective and safe mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair.
A 66-year-old man with a large secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) that had been repaired percutaneously 30 months previously with an Amplatzer ASD occluder (ASO) presented with fevers and ...Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. Transesophageal echocardiography revealed a 1.5 × 1.5 cm mobile mass on the left atrial side of his ASO consistent with a vegetation. When the ASO was explanted, the left atrial side of the device was poorly endothelialized. In conclusion, the present report is the first description of late infective endocarditis in an adult with an ASO.
Obesity and heart failure are increasingly common, but the outcomes, weight changes, and adverse events of patients with advanced heart failure and obesity on mechanical support is not well ...described.
We retrospectively reviewed all non-underweight patients with durable mechanical support at a single institution from January 2000 until December 2008 and compared outcomes, weight change, and Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support-defined adverse events between obese and nonobese patients.
A total of 169 patients were included; 113 (67%) nonobese and 56 (33%) obese. Baseline characteristics, pump types, and implant duration were similar for both populations with the exception of more diabetes (61% vs 26%, p < 0.0001) and hypertension (61% vs 42%, p = 0.019) in the obese. Outcomes on mechanical support at 6 months were not different between groups. There was no significant difference between the nonobese and obese groups in the change in body mass index (-0.3 vs -1.0 mg/m(2), p = 0.29) over the duration of support. Obese patients, as compared with the nonobese, had higher incidence rates of sepsis (64.5% vs 34.7%, respectively, p = 0.006) and reoperation for infectious complications (34.2% vs 13.3%, respectively, p = 0.014). Obese patients also had a higher cumulative incidence of sepsis and reoperation for infection. Two-year posttransplant outcomes were not different in the obese and nonobese.
Obese patients have similar outcomes on mechanical support, but at the cost of a higher cumulative incidence of sepsis and reoperations for infection; however, obese patients lose little weight while on mechanical support.
High residual platelet reactivity (HRPR) on clopidogrel is a predictor of recurrent ischemic events in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). Significant intraindividual ...variability in platelet aggregation on repeat testing has been reported. To understand factors contributing to the variability in platelet aggregation testing, we examined clinical and laboratory elements linked to HRPR in 255 consecutive patients tested ≥12 hours after PCI using light transmission aggregometry (LTA) in response to adenosine diphosphate 5 μmol/L and VerifyNow P2Y12 assay (VNP2Y12; Accumetrics). HRPR was defined as >46% residual aggregation for LTA and >236 P2Y12 response units (PRUs) for VNP2Y12. On multivariate analysis the only variable independently associated with HRPR with both LTA and VNP2Y12 was laboratory-defined anemia. Prevalences of HRPR by LTA were 34.3% in anemic patients, 15.6% in patients with normal hemoglobin levels, and 59.8% versus 25.9% by VNP2Y12 (p <0.005 for the 2 comparisons). In a subgroup of 50 patients, testing was done before and after the clopidogrel loading dose. At baseline there were no differences in platelet aggregation with either assay; however, absolute decrease in reactivity after the clopidogrel load was significantly less in anemic patients compared to patients with normal hemoglobin (change in residual aggregation by LTA 15.8 ± 5.8% vs 28.8 ± 3.2%, p <0.05; change in PRU by VNP2Y12 56.5 ± 35.5 vs 145.0 ± 14.2 PRUs, p <0.05, respectively). In conclusion, anemia is an important contributor to apparent HRPR on clopidogrel and may explain some of the intraindividual variability of platelet aggregation testing.
Dendritic cells (DCs) are crucial regulators of immunity and important in inducing and maintaining tolerance. Here, we investigated the potential of a novel DC-immunomodulating agent, soluble CD83 ...(sCD83), in inducing transplant tolerance.
We used the C3H-to-C57BL/6 mouse cardiac transplantation model that exhibits a combination of severe cell-mediated rejection and moderate antibody-mediated rejection and investigated whether sCD83 could augment a combination therapy consisting of Rapamycin (Rapa) and anti-CD45RB monoclonal antibody (α-CD45) to prolong allograft survival.
Monotherapies consisting of Rapa and α-CD45 were incapable of preventing rejection. However, all treatments involving sCD83 were capable of (1) down-modulating expression of various DC surface molecules, such as major histocompatibility complex class II and costimulatory molecules, (2) reducing the allogeneic stimulatory capacity of the DCs, and (3) significantly inhibiting antidonor antibody responses. Most striking results were observed in the triple therapy-treated group, sCD83Rapaα-CD45, where cell-mediated rejection and antibody-mediated rejection were abrogated for over 100 days. Donor-specific tolerance was achieved in long-term surviving recipients, because donor skin transplants were readily accepted for an additional 100 days, whereas third-party skin grafts were rejected. Success of triple therapy treatment was accompanied by enhancement of tolerogenic-DCs that conferred antigen-specific protection on adoptive transfer to recipients of an allogeneic heart graft.
Our study revealed that sCD83 is capable of attenuating DC maturation and function, and inducing donor-specific allograft tolerance, in the absence of toxicity. Thus, sCD83 seems to be a safe and valuable counterpart to current DC-modulating agents.
