ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) is a common complication of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy accounting for frequent hospitalizations and high resource utilization. METHODS: We previously developed an endoscopic algorithm emphasizing upfront evaluation of the small bowel and minimizing low-yield procedures in LVAD recipients with GIB. We compared the diagnostic and therapeutic yield of endoscopy, health-care costs, and re-bleeding rates between conventional GIB management and our algorithm using chi-square, Fisher's exact test, Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney, and Kaplan-Meier analysis. RESULTS: We identified 33 LVAD patients with GIB. Presentation was consistent with upper GIB in 20 (61%), lower GIB in 5 (15%), and occult GIB in 8 (24%) patients. Forty-one endoscopies localized a source in 23 (56%), resulting in 14 (34%) interventions. Algorithm implementation compared with our conventional cohort was associated with a 68% increase in endoscopic diagnostic yield (P< .01), a 113% increase in therapeutic yield (P= .01), a 27% reduction in the number of procedures per patient (P < .01), a 33% decrease in length of stay (P < .01), and an 18% reduction in estimated costs (P < .01). The same median number of red blood cell transfusions were used in the 2 cohorts, with no increase in re-bleeding events in the algorithm cohort (33.3%) compared with our conventional cohort (43.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Our endoscopic management algorithm for GIB in LVAD patients proved effective in reducing low-yield procedures, improving the diagnostic and therapeutic yield of endoscopy, and decreasing health-care resource utilization and costs, while not increasing the risk of a re-bleeding event.
Subject(s)
Heart Failure , Heart-Assist Devices , Algorithms , Endoscopy , Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/diagnosis , Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/etiology , Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/therapy , Heart-Assist Devices/adverse effects , Humans , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) is a frequent cause of re-admission in patients with continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices (CF-LVADs) and is associated with multiple endoscopic procedures and high resource utilization. Our aim was to determine the diagnostic and therapeutic yield of endoscopy and to develop a more cost-effective approach for the management of GIB in CF-LVAD recipients. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 428 patients implanted with a CF-LVAD between 2009 and 2016 at the Columbia University Medical Center and identified those hospitalized for GIB. Patients were categorized into upper GIB (UGIB), lower GIB (LGIB) and occult GIB (OGIB), based on clinical presentation. RESULTS: Eighty-seven CF-LVAD patients underwent a total of 164 GIBs, resulting in 239 endoscopies. Index presentation was consistent with UGIB in 30 (34.5%), LGIB in 19 (21.8%) and OGIB in 38 (43.7%) patients. On the first GIB, 147 endoscopies localized a bleeding source in 49 (30%), resulting in 24 (16.3%) endoscopic interventions. Of 45 lesions identified, arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) were the most common (22, 48.9%). A gastric or small bowel source (HR 2.8, p = 0.003) and an endoscopic intervention (HR 1.9, p = 0.04) predicted recurrent GIB. The proposed algorithm may reduce the number of endoscopic procedures by 45% and costs by 35%. CONCLUSIONS: Occult GIB is the most common presentation in CF-LVAD patients and carries the lowest diagnostic and therapeutic yield of endoscopy. Performing an intervention was among the strongest predictors of recurrent GIB. Our proposed algorithm may decrease the number of low-yield procedures and improve resource utilization.
