Antitrombóticos en las prótesis valvulares biológicas: ¿cuál es el mejor camino a seguir? / Antithrombotics in biological valve prostheses: what is the best way forward? / Antitrombóticos em próteses de válvulas biológicas: qual é o melhor caminho a seguir?

La enfermedad valvular cardíaca es una condición muy frecuente en la población general y un porcentaje considerable de estos pacientes requieren un tratamiento intervencionista sobre su valvulopatía para lograr atenuar su evolución natural. En este contexto, en la actualidad ha aumentado el uso de las prótesis valvulares biológicas para su tratamiento y, con ello, surge el dilema del manejo antitrombótico en estos pacientes en términos de prevención de tromboembolias y eventos hemorrágicos. ¿Cuál es el fármaco más efectivo y seguro en el período posoperatorio temprano? ¿Qué antitrombóticos podemos utilizar en el período posoperatorio tardío? ¿Qué estrategia seguimos cuando el paciente presenta otras indicaciones de anticoagulación? El objetivo de esta revisión es valorar la evidencia actual respecto al tratamiento antitrombótico en pacientes portadores de prótesis valvulares biológicas con y sin indicaciones adicionales de anticoagulación.

Heart valve disease is a very common condition in the general population and a considerable percentage of these patients require interventional treatment for their valve disease to mitigate its natural evolution. In this context, the use of biological prosthetic valves for their treatment has now increased, and with this, the dilemma of antithrombotic management in these patients arises, in terms of prevention of thromboembolism and hemorrhagic events. What is the most effective and safe drug in the early postoperative period? What antithrombotics can we use in the late postoperative period? What strategy do we follow when the patient presents other indications for anticoagulation? The objective of this review is to assess the current evidence regarding antithrombotic treatment in patients with biological prosthetic valves with and without additional indications for anticoagulation.

A valvopatia é uma condição muito comum na população geral e uma porcentagem considerável desses pacientes necessita de tratamento intervencionista para sua valvopatia para amenizar sua evolução natural. Nesse contexto, o uso de próteses valvares biológicas para seu tratamento tem aumentado, e com isso surge o dilema do manejo antitrombótico nesses pacientes em termos de prevenção de tromboembolismo e eventos hemorrágicos. Qual é o fármaco mais eficaz e seguro no pós-operatório imediato? Que antitrombóticos podemos usar no pós-operatório tardio? Que estratégia seguimos quando o paciente apresenta outras indicações de anticoagulação? O objetivo desta revisão é avaliar as evidências atuais sobre o tratamento antitrombótico em pacientes com próteses valvares biológicas com e sem indicações adicionais de anticoagulação.

A importância do uso de pericárdio bovino para reconstruções cirúrgicas: uma revisão sistemática / The importance of the use of bovine pericardium for surgical reconstructions: a systematic review

Introdução: O uso de pericárdio bovino teve início em 1972 nas cirurgias cardiovasculares. A partir da evolução da engenharia de tecidos com os cuidados na preparação do material, minimizando os riscos de rejeição e facilitando a utilização para diversos tipos de cirurgias, o pericárdio bovino tornou-se ferramenta importante em procedimentos cirúrgicos reconstrutivos. Objetivos: Nessa casuística, o presente estudo propõe avaliar o atual cenário da utilização do pericárdio bovino em procedimentos cirúrgicos de diversas especialidades e os resultados pósoperatórios encontrados. Métodos: Assim, foi realizada uma revisão sistemática da literatura e a base de dados consultada foi a MEDLINE, utilizando a palavra-chave "bovine pericardium", elencando estudos publicados nos últimos cinco anos em inglês e português, e que não utilizavam outro tipo de "patch". Resultados: Foram selecionados 14 artigos que totalizam 507 pacientes, submetidos a cirurgias em diversas áreas, tais quais, cardiologia, neurologia, vascular, pediatria, urologia e oftalmologia. Conclusão: Depreende-se que o uso de pericárdio bovino como remendo cirúrgico é seguro, tendo em vista que existem poucos casos de rejeição do hospedeiro, além de fácil e rápido de ser manuseado, possuindo benefícios frente a próteses mecânicas. Faz-se relevante, portanto, ampliar o número de estudos sobre o tema, visando o grande potencial que esse tipo de material possui para a medicina regenerativa.

Introduction: The use of bovine pericardium started in 1972 in cardiovascular surgeries. From the evolution of tissue engineering with care in the preparation of the material, minimizing the risk of rejection and facilitating the use for various types of surgeries, the bovine pericardium has become an important tool in reconstructive surgical procedures. Purpose: In this series, the present study proposes to evaluate the current scenario of the use of bovine pericardium in surgical procedures of different specialties, and the postoperative results found. Methods: Thus, a systematic literature review was carried out and the database consulted was MEDLINE, using the keywords "bovine pericardium", listing studies published in the last five years in English and Portuguese and that did not use another type of patch. Results: 14 articles were selected, totaling 507 patients, who underwent surgery in several areas, such as cardiology, neurology, vascular, pediatrics, urology, and ophthalmology. Conclusion: It appears that the use of bovine pericardium as a surgical patch is safe, given that there are few cases of host rejection, in addition to being easy and quick to handle, with benefits compared to mechanical prostheses. It is relevant, therefore, to expand the number of studies on the subject, aiming at the great potential that this type of material has for regenerative medicine.

Comparative study on Sichuan yak pericardium and Australian cattle pericardium / 生物医学工程学杂志

Currently, as the key raw material of artificial biological heart valve, bovine pericardium is mainly depend on import and has become a "bottleneck" challenge, greatly limiting the development of domestic biological heart valve. Therefore, the localization of bovine pericardium is extremely urgent. In this study, the pericardium of Sichuan yak was compared with that of Australian cattle in terms of fundamental properties and anti-calcification performance. The results demonstrated that the appearance and thickness of yak pericardium were more advantageous than the Australian one. Sichuan yak pericardium and Australian cattle pericardium had comparable performance in shrinkage temperature, mechanical test and anti-calcification test. This study preliminarily verifies the feasibility of substitution of Australian cattle pericardium by Sichuan yak pericardium and promotes the progression of bovine pericardium localization with data support.

Mitral valve-in-valve: defining the indication limits by in vitro hydrodynamic tests in a brazilian transcatheter prosthesis

Abstract Introduction: Reoperations in cardiac surgery represent a clinical challenge, particularly because of the higher rate of perioperative morbidity and mortality. Mitral valve reoperation owing to bioprosthesis dysfunction, transcatheter treatment with a prosthesis implantation over the prosthesis has emerged as an alternative, especially for patients with a previous approach. In this study, we analyzed the hydrodynamic behavior of transcatheter prosthesis implantation in conventional mitral bioprostheses through hydrodynamic tests and produced a recommendation for the size of transcatheter valve most adequate for valve-in-valve procedure. Methods: Mitral bioprostheses were attached to a flow duplicator and different combinations of transcatheter prostheses were implanted inside. The equipment simulates the hydrodynamic behavior of the valves submitted in vitro and determines transvalvular pressures and flow parameters. Results: All tests could be performed. Better hydrodynamic performance occurred for transcatheter prostheses 1 mm smaller than bioprostheses, except for the 27-mm bioprostheses. Effective valve areas (cm²) and transvalvular gradients (mmHg) were, respectively: Bioprosthesis × Inovare: 27 × 28 mm: 1.65 and 5.95/29 × 28 mm and 31 × 30 mm: 2.15 and 3.6. Conclusion: The mitral valve-in-valve implantation proved to be feasible in vitro. The use of 27-mm bioprostheses should be judicious, with preference for a 26-mm transcatheter valve. In the 29 and 31-mm bioprostheses, the implantation was very satisfactory, with good effective valve areas and transvalvular gradients, with preference for smaller transcatheter valves.

Open Transcatheter Multivalve Replacement in Degenerated Valve Prostheses in High-Risk Patients with Endocarditis

Abstract Multivalve redo procedures carry a high surgical risk. We describe an alternative surgical treatment for patients presenting with severely degenerated aortic and mitral valve prostheses who have to undergo open surgery due to endocarditis. Open transcatheter multivalve implantation is a feasible bailout strategy in high-risk patients to save cross-clamp and procedural times to reduce morbidity and mortality.

Oral Use of Phenytoin to Reduce Calcification in Bovine Pericardium and Porcine Aortic Leaflets Implants in Rats

Abstract Introduction: This study aims to test the effect of phenytoin as an inhibitor of the process of dystrophic calcification in bovine pericardium and porcine leaflets implanted in the subcutaneous tissue of rats. Methods: Isolated segments of biomaterials were implanted subcutaneously in young rats. The study groups received 500 mg phenytoin per kilogram of diet per day. After 90 days, samples were collected and quantitative calcification assessment by optical microscopy, radiological studies with mammography, and atomic emission spectrometry were performed. Results: Inflammatory reaction was a frequent finding in all groups when analyzed by optical microscopy. The calcium level assessed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry was significantly lower in the study groups using phenytoin compared to the control groups (control bovine pericardium group X=0.254±0.280 µg/mg; study bovine pericardium group X=0.063±0.025 µg/mg; control porcine aortic leaflets group X=0.640±0.226 µg/mg; study porcine aortic leaflets group X=0.056±0.021 µg/mg; P<0.05). Radiologic studies revealed a statistically significant difference between the groups treated with and without phenytoin (not only regarding the bovine pericardium but also the porcine leaflets). Conclusion: The results obtained suggest that phenytoin reduces the calcification process of bovine pericardium segments and porcine aortic leaflets in subdermal implants in rats; also, the incidence of calcification in bovine pericardium grafts was similar to that of porcine aortic leaflets.

The Return-to-Work experience of lower extremity amputees provided with prostheses at UERMMMCI CTC-PO / The Health Sciences Journal

INTRODUCTION@#Since there are limited studies about the return-to-work experiences of Filipino amputees, this study will be able to contribute to studies that delve deeper into the lower extremity amputees’ experiences and put into light the factors that may be present in relation to their return to work.@*METHODS@#This study utilized a qualitative phenomenological design. Participants who were willing to join the study were all gathered for a focus group discussion conducted by a hired interviewer. The researchers adapted Colaizzi’s descriptive phenomenological method for analyzing the data.@*RESULTS@#Factors that allowed amputees to have a successful return to work experience were motivation to continue with life, positive impact of lower extremity prosthesis, and rehabilitation. Factors that hindered the successful return to work of amputees were social barriers, work environment, negative self-image, discrimination from the community, and ft of prosthesis.@*CONCLUSION@#Employment was possible after amputation among amputees who were provided with prosthesis at UERMMMCI, since most of the respondents of this study were employed. Positive and negative factors that infuenced their return to work were also identifed. Non-compliance to rehabilitation limited the usage of prosthesis resulting in not being able to return to work.

Degeneración valvular en pacientes con bioprótesis aórtica porcina evaluada mediante PET con 18Ffluoruro de sodio / Valve degeneration in patients with aortic porcine bioprosthesis evaluated through 18Fsodium fluoride PET / Degeneração valvular em pacientes com bioprótese aórtica suína avaliada mediante PET com fluoreto18F

Introducción: la degeneración valvular protésica es un problema clínico; los métodos de imagen convencionales permiten diagnosticarla en las últimas etapas. La tomografía por emisión de positrones (PET) con 18Ffluoruro puede detectar de manera precoz la degeneración subclínica. Objetivo: correlacionar parámetros de deterioro estructural protésico por PET con parámetros hemodinámicos ecocardiográficos al año de la sustitución valvular aórtica (SVA) por bioprótesis porcina. Métodos: estudio prospectivo ad hoc de un ensayo clínico. Se reclutaron pacientes sometidos a SVA por bioprótesis porcina en dos centros nacionales entre el 01/01/2019 y el 13/02/2020. Se realizaron controles clínicos y ecocardiográficos. Se seleccionaron aleatoriamente 19 sujetos a los que se les realizó PET 18Ffluoruro de sodio con angiotomografía al año de la SVA. Se midió la captación del trazador en la válvula (SUVavV) y aurícula derecha (SUVavA), calculando el índice SUVavV/SUVavA, que se comparó con los gradientes ecocardiográficos medio y máximo al año, mediante análisis de correlación de Spearman. Resultados: de 140 sujetos sometidos a SVA se realizó PET a 19, a los 16,3 meses (15,9-16,9) luego de la SVA. La mediana del índice SUVavV/SUVavA fue de 1,17 (1,11-1,27). Se encontró una correlación negativa moderada entre la captación de 18Ffluoruro y el gradiente medio (coeficiente de correlación -0,516, p = 0,028) y máximo (coeficiente -0,589, p = 0,010) al año. Conclusiones: en el seguimiento de los pacientes en los que se le realizó una sustitución valvular aórtica con bioprótesis, encontramos valores bajos de captación en el PET y gradientes ecocardiográficos normales con una correlación negativa moderada entre estos hallazgos

Introduction: prosthetic valve degeneration is a relevant clinical disorder; conventional imaging methods allow diagnosis in the later stages. 18Ffluoride positron emission tomography (PET) can detect subclinical degeneration earlier. Objective: correlate parameters of prosthetic structural deterioration by PET with echocardiographic hemodynamic parameters one year after aortic valve replacement (AVR) by porcine bioprosthesis. Methods: prospective ad hoc study of a clinical trial. Patients undergoing AVR by porcine bioprosthesis were recruited in two national centers between 01/01/2019 and 02/13/2020. Clinical and echocardiographic controls were carried out. 19 subjects were randomly selected and underwent 18Fsodium fluoride PET with CT angiography one year after AVR. Tracer uptake in the valve (SUVavV) and right atrium (SUVavA) was measured, creating the SUVavV/SUVavA index, which was compared with the mean and maximum gradients at one year, using Spearman's correlation analysis. Results: of a total of 140 subjects, PET was performed on 19 at 16.3 months (15.9-16.9) after the AVR. The median SUVavV/SUVavA ratio was 1.17 (1.11-1.27). A moderate negative correlation was found between. 18Ffluoride uptake and the mean gradient (correlation coefficient -0.516, p = 0.028) and maximum (coefficient of -0.589, p = 0.010) at one year. Conclusions: we found low uptake values in PET, echocardiographic gradients in normal range and no positive correlation between both parameters. It is the first national report with these imaging techniques

Introdução: a degeneração da válvula protética é um problema clínico; os métodos convencionais de imagem permitem o diagnóstico nas fases posteriores. A tomografia por emissão de pósitrons (PET) com fluoreto18F pode detectar a degeneração subclínica precocemente. Objetivo: correlacionar parâmetros de deterioração estrutural protética por PET com parâmetros hemodinâmicos ecocardiográficos após um ano da troca valvar aórtica (SVA) por bioprótese suína. Métodos: estudo ad hoc prospectivo de um ensaio clínico. Pacientes submetidos a SVA por bioprótese suína foram recrutados em dois centros nacionais entre 01/01/2019 e 13/02/2020. Foram realizados controles clínicos e ecocardiográficos. 19 indivíduos foram selecionados aleatoriamente que foram submetidos a PET com fluoreto de sódio 18F com angiotomografia um ano após AVS. A captação do traçador na válvula (SUVavV) e átrio direito (SUVavA) foi medida, criando o índice SUVavV/SUVavA, que foi comparado com os gradientes médio e máximo em um ano, usando a análise de correlação de Spearman. Resultados: de um total de 140 indivíduos submetidos a SVA, PET foi realizado em 19, em 16,3 meses (15,9-16,9) após a SVA. A proporção média de SUVavV/SUVavA foi de 1,17 (1,11-1,27). Uma correlação negativa moderada foi encontrada entre a captação de fluoreto18F e o gradiente médio (coeficiente de correlação -0,516, p = 0,028) e máximo (coeficiente de -0,589, p = 0,010) em um ano. Conclusões: encontramos valores baixos de captação na PET, gradientes ecocardiográficos dentro da normalidade, sem correlação positiva entre os dois parâmetros. É o primeiro trabalho nacional com essas técnicas de imagem

Un caso clínico de implante valve in valve mitral: nuevo horizonte en el tratamiento de la disfunción valvular protésica / A clinical case of mitral valve in valve implant: new skyline in the treatment of prosthetic valve dysfunction / Presentação de um caso clínico do valve in valve mitral: um novo horizonte no tratamento da disfunção valvular protética

La disfunción valvular protésica es cada vez más frecuente debido al envejecimiento de la población portadora de bioprótesis y se presenta como un desafío en el momento de su diagnóstico, valoración y tratamiento. Aplicar un enfoque imagenológico multimodal es fundamental para su manejo. Respecto al tratamiento, surge como nueva alternativa un procedimiento mínimamente invasivo de sustitución valvular percutánea, denominado valve in valve, principalmente en pacientes con riesgo quirúrgico elevado. Presentamos uno de los primeros casos locales de implante percutáneo de prótesis mitral transeptal dentro de una bioprótesis mitral quirúrgica disfuncionante.

Prosthetic valve dysfunction is increasingly common due to the aging of the bioprosthesis-bearing population, and it presents a challenge at the time of diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment. A multimodal imaging approach is essential for its management. In relation to treatment, a minimally invasive percutaneous valve replacement procedure called valve in valve arises as a new alternative, mainly in patients with high surgical risk. We present one of first local cases of percutaneous implantation of a transseptal mitral prosthesis within a dysfunctional surgical mitral bioprosthesis.

A disfunção valvular protética é cada vez mais comum devido ao envelhecimento da população portadora de biopróteses e representa um desafio no momento do diagnóstico, avaliação e tratamento. A multimodalidade da imagem cardiovascular é essencial para sua avaliação. Em relação ao tratamento, um procedimento de troca valvular percutânea minimamente invasivo, denominado valve in valve, surge como uma nova alternativa, principalmente em pacientes com alto risco cirúrgico. Apresentamos um dos primeiros casos realizados no Uruguai de implantação percutânea de prótese mitral transeptal dentro de bioprótese mitral cirúrgica disfuncional.

Rotura aguda de prótesis valvular aórtica biológica Biocor® seis años después de su implante: reporte de un caso / Acute rupture a a Biocor® aortic valve prosthesis six years after implantation

Resumen: Un hombre de 66 años portador de una prótesis valvular aórtica SJM Biocor® (Saint Jude Medical, St Paul, Minn), instalada 6 años antes, se presentó con disnea severa de rápida instalación. Mediante ecocardiografía de superficie y transesofágica se demostró insuficiencia aórtica masiva y el paciente fue reintervenido con éxito. En la operación se observó un desprendimiento parcial de la inserción del velo coronario izquierdo al anillo protésico. No había endocarditis. Se implantó una nueva prótesis biológica Trifecta® (Saint Jude Inc, St Paul, Minn) N°27. La evolución precoz y a 2 años de la intervención es muy satisfactoria.

Abstract A 66 year-old man with a SJM Biocor® (Saint Jude Medical, St Paul, Minn) implanted 6 years before developed unexpected severe dyspnea. Surface and transesophageal echocardiograms confirmed severe aortic regurgitation. The patient was rapidly re operated on. There was a partial detachment of the left coronary leaflet form the valve annulus. There was no evidence of endocarditis. A new valve (Trifecta® (Saint Jude Inc, St Paul, Minn) N°27). was inserted. Clinical course has been uneventful up to two years post surgery.

Stentless root replacement versus tissue valves in infective endocarditis - a propensity-score matched study

Abstract Introduction: People with aortic/prosthetic valve endocarditis are a high-risk cohort of patients who present a challenge for all medically involved disciplines and who can be treated by various surgical techniques. Methods: We analyzed the results of treatment of root endocarditis with Medtronic Freestyle® in full-root technique over 19 years (1999-2018) and compared them against treatment with other tissue valves. Comparison was made with propensity score matching, using the nearest neighbor method. Various tests were performed as suited for adequate analyses. Results: Fifty-four patients in the Medtronic Freestyle group (FS group) were matched against 54 complex root endocarditis patients treated with other tissue valves (Tissue group). Hospital mortality was 9/54 (16.7%) in the FS group vs. 14/54 (25.6%) in the Tissue group (P=0.24). Cox regression performed for early results demonstrated coronary heart disease (P=0.004, odds ratio 2.3), among others, influencing early mortality. Recurrent infection was low (1.8% for FS and Tissue patients) and freedom from reoperation was 97.2% at a total of 367 patient-years of follow-up (median of 2.7 years). Conclusion: The stentless xenograft is a viable alternative for treatment of valve/root/prosthetic endocarditis, demonstrating a low rate of reinfection. The design of the bioroot allows for complex reconstructive procedures at the outflow tract and the annular level with at an acceptable operative risk. Endocarditis patients can be treated excluding infective tissue from the bloodstream, possibly with benefits, concerning bacteremia and recurrent infection. Furthermore, the use of the stentless bioroot offers varying treatment options in case of future valve degeneration.

Endocarditis secundaria a corynebacterium tras implante de válvula aórtica transcatéter: Informe de un caso / Endocarditis due to corynebacterium after transcatheter aortic valve implantation: A case report

RESUMEN Se presenta un caso de endocarditis valvular protésica secundaria a un organismo infrecuente (Corynebacterium sp.) tras la implantación de una protésis valvular aórtica percutánea. La menor sensibilidad del ecocardiograma transesofágico para detectar signos de endocarditis en éstos pacientes puede retrasar el diagnóstico. El uso de otras técnicas de imagen complementarias como la tomografía por emisión de positrones, puede ser de utilidad. El aumento de implantes de prótesis percutánea en los últimos años va asociado a un aumento de complicaciones como la endocarditis.

ABSTRACT We present a case of prosthetic valve endocarditis secondary to an infrequent organism (Corynebacterium sp.) after percutaneous aortic valve implantation. The lower sensitivity of transesophageal echocardiogram to detect signs of endocarditis in these patients may delay diagnosis. Implementing other ancillary imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography may be helpful. The increase in percutaneous prosthetic implants in recent years is associated with an upsurge in complications such as endocarditis

Surgical options for aortic root replacement in destructive endocarditis

Abstract Objective: To analyze patients' preoperative characteristics, surgical data, postoperative courses, and short- and long-term outcomes after implantation of different full-root prostheses for destructive aortic valve endocarditis. Methods: Between 1999 and 2018, 80 patients underwent aortic root replacement due to infective endocarditis in our institution. We analyzed the abovementioned data with standard statistical methods. Results: The Freestyle stentless porcine prostheses were implanted in 53 (66.25%) patients, biological valve conduits in 13 (16.25%), aortic root homografts in nine (11.25%), and mechanical valve conduits in five (6.25%). There were no significant preoperative differences between the groups. The incidence of postoperative complications and intensive care unit length of stay did not differ significantly between the groups. The 30-day mortality rate was low among Freestyle patients (n=8, 15.1%) and high in the mechanical conduit cohort (n=3, 60%), though with borderline statistical significance (P=0.055). The best mean survival rates were observed after homograft (13.7 years) and stentless prosthesis (8.1 years) implantation, followed by biological (2.8 years) and mechanical (1.4 years) conduits (P=0.014). The incidence of reoperations was low in the mechanical conduit group (0) and stentless bioroot group (n=1, 1.9%), but two (15.4%) patients with biological conduits and three (33.3%) patients with homografts required reoperations in the investigated follow-up period (P=0.005). Conclusion: In patients with the destructive form of aortic valve endocarditis, homografts and stentless porcine xenografts offer better survival rates than stented valve conduits; however, the reoperation rate among patients who received homograft valves is high.

Immediate outcomes of aortic valve neocuspidization with glutaraldehyde-treated autologous pericardium: a multicenter study

Abstract Objective: To determine the feasibility of aortic valve neocuspidization (AVNeo) with glutaraldehyde-treated autologous pericardium. Methods: One hundred and seventy (170) AVNeo (84 males/86 females) were performed from January 2017 through March 2019 in three centers. All the records were prospectively collected and retrospectively reviewed. Results: Most of the patients were older than 60 years and over 95% were operated for aortic stenosis. Preoperatively, pressure gradients were 69.9±21.3 mmHg for patients with aortic stenosis, and the surgical annular diameter was 21.0±2.0 mm for all patients. Effective orifice area (EOA) and indexed EOA (iEOA) averaged 0.7±0.3 cm2 and 0.4±0.2 cm2/m2 for patients with aortic stenosis before surgery, respectively. There was no conversion to prosthetic aortic valve replacement. Eight patients needed reoperation for bleeding, but no patient needed reoperation due to early infective endocarditis. There were five in-hospital deaths due to noncardiac cause. Compared to preoperative echocardiographic measurements, postoperative peak pressure gradient decreased significantly (-58.7±1.7 mmHg; P<0.001) and reached 11.2±5.6 mmHg, and mean pressure gradient also decreased significantly (-36.8±1.1 mmHg; P<0.001) and reached 6.0±3.5 mmHg. Accordingly, EOA and iEOA increased significantly 2.0 cm2 and 1.0 cm2/m2 (both P<0.001) to reach 2.7±0.6 cm2 and 1.4±0.3 cm2/m2 after surgery, respectively, with minimal significant aortic regurgitation (0.6% > mild). Conclusion: AVNeo is feasible and reproducible with good clinical results. Hemodynamically, AVNeo produces immediate postoperative low-pressure gradients, large EOA, and minimal regurgitation of the aortic valve. Further studies are necessary to evaluate mid- and long-term evolution.

The beneficial effect of anticoagulation in aortic bioprosthesis is associated with its size

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the clinical and echocardiographic outcomes in aortic valve replacement (AVR) patients with aortic bioprosthesis under oral anticoagulation (OA). Methods: Patients who underwent AVR with bioprosthesiswere prospectively enrolled. They were classified based on postoperative use of OA. Clinical and operative variables were collected. Echocardiographic and clinical follow-ups were performed two years after surgery. The primary outcome evaluated was change in transprosthetic gradient. Secondary outcomes analyzed were change in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class, major bleeding episodes, hospitalization, stroke, and transient ischemic attack. Results: We included 103 patients (61 without OA and 42 with OA). Clinical characteristics were similar among groups, except for younger age (76±6.3 vs. 72.4±8.1 years, P=0.016) and higher prevalence of atrial fibrillation (0% vs. 23.8%, P<0.001) in the OA group. Mean (21.4±10 mmHg vs. 16.8±7.7 mmHg, P=0.037) and maximum (33.4±13.7 mmHg vs. 28.4±10.2 mmHg, P=0.05) transprosthetic gradients were higher in patients without OA. Improvement in NYHA class was more frequent in patients with OA (73% vs. 45.3%, P=0.032). Major bleeding, stroke, and hospitalization were similar among groups. OA was the only independent predictor for improvement of NYHA class after multivariate logistic regression analysis (odds ratio [OR]: 5.9, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2-29.4; P=0.028). Stratification by prosthesis size showed that patients with ≤ 21 mm prosthesis benefited from OA. Conclusion: Early anticoagulation after AVR with bioprosthesis was associated with significant decrease of transprosthesis gradient and improvement in NYHA class. These associations were seen mainly in patients with ≤ 21 mm prosthesis.