Failure to rescue: A candidate quality metric for durable left ventricular assist device implantation

Failure to rescue (FTR), defined as death after a complication, is recognized as a principal driver of variation in mortality among hospitals. We evaluated FTR as a quality metric in patients who received durable left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) using the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support.

Data on 13,617 patients who received primary durable LVADs from April 2012 to October 2017 at 131 hospitals that performed at least 20 implants were analyzed from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support. Rates of major complications and FTR were compared across risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality terciles (low, medium, high) and hospital volume. Logistic regression was used to estimate expected FTR rates on the basis of patient factors for each major complication.

The overall unadjusted in-hospital mortality rate was 6.96%. Risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality rates varied 3.1-fold across terciles (low, 3.3%; high, 10.3%; P trend <.001). Rates of major complications varied 1.1-fold (low, 34.0%; high, 38.8%; P < .0001). Among patients with a major complication, 854 died in-hospital for an FTR rate of 17.7%, with 2.8-fold variation across mortality terciles (low, 8.5%; high, 23.9%; P < .0001). FTR rates were highest for renal dysfunction requiring dialysis (45.3%) and stroke (36.5%). Higher average annual LVAD volume was associated with higher rates of major complications (<10 per year, 26.7%; 10-20 per year, 34.0%; 20-30 per year, 34.0%; >30 per year, 40.1%; P trend <.0001) whereas hospitals implanting <10 per year had the highest FTR rate (<10 per year, 23.5%; 10-20 per year, 16.5%; 20-30 per year, 17.0%; >30 per year, 17.9%; P = .03).

FTR might serve as an important quality metric for durable LVAD implant procedures, and identifying strategies for successful rescue after complications might reduce hospital variations in mortality.