Early Versus Standard Discharge After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

This study sought to assess the clinical outcomes of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with early discharge (ED) versus standard discharge (SD) pathways.

Minimalist approaches for TAVR have been developed targeting different aspects of the procedure such as local anesthesia or sedation, intraprocedural imaging, vascular access, post-operative monitoring and care, and discharge planning. Their incorporation into routine clinical practice aims to reduce length of hospital stay and health care cost utilization without adversely affecting outcomes when compared with standard approaches.

The authors conducted a search of MEDLINE and EMBASE to identify studies that investigated ED (≤3 days) versus SD in TAVR patients. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to estimate the effect of ED compared with SD with regard to 30-day mortality after discharge, 30-day readmission rate, and need for permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) following discharge.

Eight studies including 1,775 participants (ED, n = 642) fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 82.4 years and STS score was 6.7. Meta-analyses evaluating discharge to 30-day mortality (odds ratio [OR]: 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.23 to 1.82; I² = 0%) and discharge to 30-day new PPI (OR: 1.61; 95% CI: 0.19 to 13.71; I² = 40%) showed no significant difference in an ED compared with a SD strategy. Notably, ED patients were less likely to be readmitted after ED when compared with SD patients (OR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.41 to 0.98; p = 0.04, I² = 0%).

ED following uncomplicated TAVR is safe in terms of discharge to 30-day mortality or need for PPI following discharge. Moreover, ED patients experienced a lower rate of readmissions. These data support the safety of programs aiming an ED pathway in selected TAVR patients. Institutional protocols with the input from different members of the multidisciplinary heart team should be devised to optimize discharge processes to improve health care resource utilization.