Racial Disparity Among Patients Undergoing Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement and Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in the United States.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has emerged as a minimally invasive alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). However, racial disparities in the utilization of TAVR persist. This meta-analysis attempts to determine whether the prevalence of adverse outcomes (procedure-related complications) represent barriers to the use of TAVR among African Americans (AA). The TAVR cohort consisted of 89.6% Caucasian (C) and 4.7% AA, while the SAVR cohort included 86.9% C and 6.4% AA. The utilization rate (UR) of TAVR was 1.48 and .35 among C and AA, respectively, while the UR of SAVR was 1.44 and .48 among C and AA, respectively. Following TAVR, for AA the odds ratio (OR) was greater for stroke (OR = 1.22, P = .02) and transient ischemic attack (TIA) (OR = 1.57, P < .001) and lower for undergoing the insertion of a permanent pacemaker (OR = .81, P < .001). While there was a significant difference between C and AA in TAVR and SAVR utilization, outcomes between groups following TAVR are comparable; therefore, adverse outcomes do not appear to be a barrier to the use of TAVR among eligible AA.

Characterizing Bariatric Surgery Utilization and Complication Rates in the Adolescent Population.

INTRODUCTION: Bariatric surgery is an increasingly common treatment of morbid obesity in the United States and has demonstrated effective weight loss and improvement of comorbidities. We used the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) data to characterize bariatric surgery utilization and complication rates in the adolescent population. METHODS: Demographics, surgical procedures, comorbidities, and 30-day outcomes of 2625 adolescents ages 18-21 who underwent bariatric surgery were analyzed from NSQIP data-bank from 2005 to 2015. RESULTS: 79.5% of patients were females. Majority of patients identified as Caucasian or Black/African American (BAA) at 66.7% (73% of US population) and 15.5% (12.6% of US population), respectively. 15.9% identified as Hispanic. Comorbidities included diabetes in 9.3% (7.8% NIDDM), hypertension (9.5%), and dyspnea on moderate exertion (13.2%). Sleeve Gastrectomy, Laparoscopic Roux-En-Y (RY) and Adjustable Gastric Banding (AGB) were the three most common procedures performed during the study period. There has been a sharp trend towards SG in recent years (11.4% in 2010, to 66.6% in 2015), while RY utilization declined (47.4% in 2010 to 28.6% in 2015). Surgical complications were 2.4%, with the most common being superficial surgical site infection (0.7%), UTI (0.7%), and organ-space infection (0.4%). Reoperation and readmission rates within 30-days post-operation were 1.5% and 4.1%, respectively. Those with complications had longer length-of-stays (2.7 vs. 1.8 days, P < 0.001), greater reoperation rates (OR = 9.6, P < 0.001) and readmission rates (OR = 11.8, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Morbid obesity is associated with significant comorbidity. SG is increasingly the most utilized form of bariatric surgery. While complications are low, they are associated with greater hospital length-of-stay, readmission, and reoperation rates. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Treatment Study, Level III.