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Background: For the management of descending thoracic aortic aneurysms, recent evidence has suggested that outcomes of open surgical repair may surpass thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) in as early as 2 years.Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of TEVAR and open surgical repair in the treatment of intact descending thoracic aortic aneurysms.Methods: Using the Medicare database, a retrospective study using regression discontinuity design and propensity score matching was performed on patients with intact descending thoracic aortic aneurysms who underwent TEVAR or open surgical repair between 1999 and 2010 with follow-up through 2014. Survival was assessed with restricted mean survival time. Perioperative mortality was assessed with logistic regression. Reintervention was evaluated as a secondary outcome.Results: Matching created comparable groups with 1,235 open surgical repair patients matched to 2,470 TEVAR patients. The odds of perioperative mortality were greater for open surgical repair: high-volume center, odds ratio (OR): 1.97 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.53 to 2.61); low-volume center, OR: 3.62 (95% CI: 2.88 to 4.51). The restricted mean survival time difference favored TEVAR at 9 years, -209.2 days (95% CI: -298.7 to -119.7 days; p < 0.001) for open surgical repair. Risk of reintervention was lower for open surgical repair, hazard ratio: 0.40 (95% CI: 0.34 to 0.60; p < 0.001).Conclusions: Open surgical repair was associated with increased odds of early postoperative mortality but reduced late hazard of death. Despite the late advantage of open repair, mean survival was superior for TEVAR. TEVAR should be considered the first line for repair of intact descending thoracic aortic aneurysms in Medicare beneficiaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neonates with symptomatic tetralogy of Fallot (sTOF) with hypoplastic pulmonary arteries (hPA) are considered high risk. Data are needed to inform the impact of hPA on outcomes, and the ideal management strategy. The objectives of this study were to quantify the impact of hPA on outcomes in neonates with sTOF and measure the impact of strategy on pulmonary artery (PA) growth in this population. Neonates with sTOF from 2005 to 2017 were reviewed from the Congenital Cardiac Research Collaborative. Criteria for hPA included a unilateral PA z score <−2.0 and contralateral PA z score <0. Primary outcome was mortality. Secondary outcomes included reintervention and PA growth. We included 542 neonates with sTOF, including 188 (35%) with hPA and 354 (65%) with normal PA, with median follow-up of 4.1 years. Median right and left hPA z scores were −2.19 (25th-75th percentile: −2.55 to −1.94) and −2.23 (25th-75th percentile: −2.64 to −1.91), respectively. Staged repair (vs primary TOF repair) was less common in the hPA cohort (36 vs 44%; P = 0.07). Survival was similar between groups (unadjusted P = 0.16; adjusted P = 0.25). Reintervention was more common in the hPA group (HR: 1.28; 95% CI: 1.01-1.63; P = 0.044); there was no difference after definitive repair (HR: 1.21; 95% CI: 0.93-1.58; P = 0.16). PA growth at 1 year was greater in the hPA cohort, particularly for the right PA (P < 0.001). Despite perception, the presence of hPA in neonates with sTOF conferred no increase in overall hazard of mortality or reintervention after definitive repair. PA growth was superior in the hPA cohort. These findings suggest that the presence of hPA does not adversely impact outcomes in sTOF. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite documented associations between social determinants of health and outcomes post–congenital heart surgery, clinical risk models typically exclude these factors. The study sought to characterize associations between social determinants and operative and longitudinal mortality as well as assess impacts on risk model performance. Demographic and clinical data were obtained for all congenital heart surgeries (2006-2021) from locally held Congenital Heart Surgery Collaborative for Longitudinal Outcomes and Utilization of Resources Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database data. Neighborhood-level American Community Survey and composite sociodemographic measures were linked by zip code. Model prediction, discrimination, and impact on quality assessment were assessed before and after inclusion of social determinants in models based on the 2020 Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database Mortality Risk Model. Of 14,173 total index operations across New York State, 12,321 cases, representing 10,271 patients at 8 centers, had zip codes for linkage. A total of 327 (2.7%) patients died in the hospital or before 30 days, and 314 children died by December 31, 2021 (total n = 641; 6.2%). Multiple measures of social determinants of health explained as much or more variability in operative and longitudinal mortality than clinical comorbidities or prior cardiac surgery. Inclusion of social determinants minimally improved models' predictive performance (operative: 0.834-0.844; longitudinal 0.808-0.811), but significantly improved model discrimination; 10.0% more survivors and 4.8% more mortalities were appropriately risk classified with inclusion. Wide variation in reclassification was observed by site, resulting in changes in the center performance classification category for 2 of 8 centers. Although indiscriminate inclusion of social determinants in clinical risk modeling can conceal inequities, thoughtful consideration can help centers understand their performance across populations and guide efforts to improve health equity. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congenital heart defects are the most common and resource-intensive birth defects. As children with congenital heart defects increasingly survive beyond early childhood, it is imperative to understand longitudinal disease burden. The purpose of this study was to examine chronic outpatient prescription medication use and expenditures for New York State pediatric Medicaid enrollees, comparing children who undergo cardiac surgery (cardiac enrollees) and the general pediatric population. This was a retrospective cohort study of all Medicaid enrollees age <18 years using the New York State Congenital Heart Surgery Collaborative for Longitudinal Outcomes and Utilization of Resources database (2006-2019). Primary outcomes were total chronic medications per person-year, enrollees per 100 person-years using ≥1 and ≥3 medications, and medication expenditures per person-year. We described and compared outcomes between cardiac enrollees and the general pediatric population. Among cardiac enrollees, multivariable regression examined associations between outcomes and clinical characteristics. We included 5,459 unique children (32,131 person-years) who underwent cardiac surgery and 4.5 million children (22 million person-years) who did not. More than 4 in 10 children who underwent cardiac surgery used ≥1 chronic medication compared with approximately 1 in 10 children who did not have cardiac surgery. Medication expenditures were 10 times higher per person-year for cardiac compared with noncardiac enrollees. Among cardiac enrollees, disease severity was associated with chronic medication use; use was highest among infants; however, nearly one-half of adolescents used ≥1 chronic medication. Children who undergo cardiac surgery experience high medication burden that persists throughout childhood. Understanding chronic medication use can inform clinicians (both pediatricians and subspecialists) and policymakers, and ultimately the value of care for this medically complex population. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximately 95% of patients of any age undergoing contemporary, coronary bypass surgery will receive at least 1 saphenous vein graft (SVG). It is recognized that SVG will develop progressive and accelerated atherosclerosis, resulting in a stenosis, and in occlusion that occurs in 50% by 10 years postoperatively. For arterial conduits, there is little evidence of progressive failure as for SVG. Could avoidance of SVG (total arterial revascularization [TAR]) lead to a different late (>5 year) survival? A literature review of 23 studies (N = 100,314 matched patients) at a mean 8.8 years postoperative found reduced all-cause mortality for TAR (HR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.71-0.84; P < 0.001). An expanded analysis with a new unpublished data set (N = 63,288 matched patients) was combined with the literature review (N = 127,565). It found reduced all-cause mortality for TAR (HR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.72-0.85; P < 0.001). Additional Bayesian analysis found a very high probability of a TAR-associated reduction all-cause mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Transcatheter edge-to-edge (TEER) mitral repair may be complicated by residual or recurrent mitral regurgitation. An increasing need for surgical reintervention has been reported, but operative outcomes are ill defined.Objectives: This study evaluated national outcomes of mitral surgery after TEER.Methods: The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Adult Cardiac Surgery Database was used to identify 524 adults who underwent mitral surgery after TEER between July 2014 and June 2020. Emergencies (5.0%; n = 26), previous mitral surgery (5.3%; n = 28), or open implantation of transcatheter prostheses (1.5%; n = 8) were excluded. The primary outcome was 30-day or in-hospital mortality.Results: In the study cohort of 463 patients, the median age was 76 years (interquartile range [IQR]: 67 to 81 years), median left ventricular ejection fraction was 57% (IQR: 48% to 62%), and 177 (38.2%) patients had degenerative disease. Major concomitant cardiac surgery was performed in 137 (29.4%) patients: in patients undergoing isolated mitral surgery, the median STS-predicted mortality was 6.5% (IQR: 3.9% to 10.5%), the observed mortality was 10.2% (n = 23 of 225), and the ratio of observed to expected mortality was 1.2 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.8 to 1.9). Predictors of mortality included urgent surgery (odds ratio [OR]: 2.4; 95% CI: 1.3 to 4.6), nondegenerative/unknown etiology (OR: 2.2; 95% CI: 1.1 to 4.5), creatinine of >2.0 mg/dl (OR: 3.8; 95% CI: 1.9 to 7.9) and age of >80 years (OR: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.1 to 4.4). In a volume outcomes analysis in an expanded cohort of 591 patients at 227 hospitals, operative mortality was 2.6% (n = 2 of 76) in 4 centers that performed >10 cases versus 12.4% (n = 64 of 515) in centers performing fewer (p = 0.01). The surgical repair rate after failed TEER was 4.8% (n = 22) and was 6.8% (n = 12) in degenerative disease.Conclusions: This study indicates that mitral repair is infrequently achieved after failed TEER, which may have implications for treatment choice in lower-risk and younger patients with degenerative disease. These findings should inform patient consent for TEER, clinical trial design, and clinical performance measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]