Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement As A Path To Transplant: Similar Short-Term Outcomes In Liver And Renal Failure

Introduction: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is an alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement in patients with predicted poor surgical outcomes due to end stage liver disease (ESLD) or end stage renal disease (ESRD), though there remains minimal data regarding outcomes and treatment strategy in this population. This study evaluates in-hospital, 30-day, and 1-year outcomes after TAVR in a cohort of patients with ESLD and/or ESRD compared to a cohort without these comorbidities. Methods: We retrospectively compared 317 consecutive patients (N=37 ESLD and ESRD, N=286 without ESLD or ESRD) age >18 who underwent transfemoral or transssubclavian TAVR at University of California San Francisco Medical Center from August 1 st , 2014 to April 1 st , 2020. Results: The ESLD and ESRD group had younger patients (69.8±11.5 vs 79.1±9.8, p<0.01), a higher incidence of diabetes mellitus (54.8% vs 28.3%, p<0.01), and higher STS-PROM scores (7.8±6.5 vs 4.7±3.9, p<0.01). Comparing the ESLD and ESRD to the control group, there were similar rates of in-hospital cerebrovascular events (3.2% vs 3.5%, p=0.94), vascular complications (6.5% vs 7.0%, p=0.91), and mortality (0.0%, vs 1.7%, p=0.46) with more bleeding events at discharge (9.7% vs 2.1%, p=0.01) and 1-year (29.2% vs 10.4%, p=0.01). Mortality rates were similar at 30-days (3.2% vs 2.1%, p=0.69) and 6-months (3.4% vs 2.8%, p=0.83), with a trend towards higher mortality in the ESLD and ESRD group at 1-year (16.7% vs 7.8%, p=0.15) from primarily noncardiac causes. Readmission rates were higher in the ESLD and ESRD cohort at 6-months (58.6% vs 27.2%, p<0.01) and 1-year (66.7% vs 40.6%, p=0.02). One patient received dual kidney-liver transplant, 1 patient received a liver transplant, and 8 patients remain on the transplant wait-list. Conclusion: Patients with ESLD and ESRD who underwent TAVR had higher rates of bleeding events and noncardiovascular readmissions with similar rates of mortality at discharge, 30-days, and 6-months when compared to patients without these comorbidities. This study suggests that TAVR may be a safe path to transplant in patients with liver or renal failure and aortic valve pathology, though additional studies are necessary to confirm these findings.