Indirect Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Activity and Outcomes of Transcatheter and Surgical Treatment of Aortic Stenosis in England

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Background: Aortic stenosis requires timely treatment with either surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) or transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). This study aimed to investigate the indirect impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on national SAVR and TAVR activity and outcomes. Methods: The UK TAVR Registry and the National Adult Cardiac Surgery Audit were used to identify all TAVR and SAVR procedures in England, between January 2017 and November 2020. The number of isolated aortic valve replacement (AVR), AVR+coronary artery bypass graft surgery, AVR+other surgery, and TAVR procedures per month was calculated. Separate negative binomial regression models were fit to monthly procedural counts, with functions of time as covariates, to estimate the expected change in activity during COVID-19. Results: We included 15 142 TAVR cases, 13 357 isolated AVR cases, 8550 AVR+coronary artery bypass graft cases, and 6773 AVR+other cases. Before March 2020 (UK lockdown), monthly TAVR activity was rising, with a slight decrease in the SAVR activity during 2019. We observed a rapid and significant drop in TAVR and SAVR activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for elective cases. Cumulatively, over the period March to November 2020, we estimated an expected 4989 (95% CI, 4020–5959) cases of aortic stenosis who have not received treatment. Conclusions: This study has demonstrated a significant decrease in TAVR and SAVR activity in England following the COVID-19 outbreak. This situation should be monitored closely, to ensure that monthly activity rapidly returns to expected levels. There is potential for significant backlog in the near-to-medium term and potential for increased mortality in this population.