Use of Mechanical Circulatory Support in Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in the United States

Percutaneous ventricular assist devices (PVADs) and intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) are used to provide mechanical circulatory support (MCS) for high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Contemporary trends in their utilization and impact on in-hospital mortality are not known. Using the National Inpatient Sample (2004 to 2012), we identified 5,031 patients who received a PVAD and 122,333 who received an IABP on the same day as PCI using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition codes. Utilization of MCS increased from 1.3% of all PCIs in 2004 to 3.4% in 2012 (p trend <0.001), with increase in the use of both PVAD (<1/10,000 PCIs [2004 to 2007] to 38/10,000 [2012]) and IABP (132/10,000 PCIs [2004] to 299/10,000[2012] p <0.0001 for both). PVAD recipients were older (69 vs 65 years), more likely to have heart failure (68% vs 41%), chronic kidney disease (27% vs 11%, p <0.001 for all), and be admitted electively (30% vs 11%), but less likely to have acute myocardial infarction (52% vs 90%), cardiogenic shock (23% vs 50%), or need mechanical ventilation (16% vs 29%) compared with IABP recipients. Unadjusted in-hospital mortality was lower in PVAD compared with IABP recipients (12.8% vs 20.9%, p <0.001). However, in propensity-matched analyses (1:2), in-hospital mortality was similar in both groups (odds ratio 0.88, 95% confidence interval 0.70 to 1.09). In conclusion, there has been a marked increase in the utilization of MCS in patients undergoing PCI. Unadjusted mortality using PVADs is lower than IABP but may be due to their selective use in patients at lower risk. Randomized trials are necessary to establish their effectiveness in supporting high-risk PCI.