title: Procedural success and 30-day clinical outcomes after percutaneous aortic valve replacement using current third-generation self-expanding CoreValve prosthesis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Percutaneous aortic valve replacement (PAVR) is an emerging alternative for high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis. The aim of this study was to report acute and short-term outcomes of PAVR with the 18 Fr CoreValve Revalving System.
  
  
  METHODS
  From January 2007 to July 2008, 69 high-risk symptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis were screened to assess their eligibility criteria for PAVR. All candidates were evaluated by a cardiac surgeon and a cardiologist. Thirty patients (13 men, 17 women, ages 82 +/- 5 years, range 73-88 years) met all the eligibility criteria and were enrolled in the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-nine patients (97%) underwent successful valve implantation by a retrograde approach, with improvement in valve area (0.61 +/- 0.18 cm(2) to 1.49 +/- 0.39 cm(2); p < 0.001) and transvalvular gradient (58.1 +/- 17.6 mmHg to 9.2 +/- 4.0; p < 0.001). Paravalvular leakages were 1+ (n = 12) and 2+ (n = 2). Procedural success was achieved in 93% of patients, with 1 case of pericardial tamponade occurred during the first 48 hours after implantation. At 30-day mortality was 7%. The mean NYHA Functional Class declined from 2.72 +/- 0.59 to 1.31 +/- 0.47 (p < 0.001). No other major adverse events occurred at a mean follow up of 4.9 +/- 4.0 months (range 1-13 months).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our initial experience of PAVR in a cohort of older and high-risk surgical patients has been positive, with excellent acute and encouraging short-term results in terms of safety and efficacy.
authors.affiliation: Ferrarotto Hospital, Catania, Italy. tambucor@unict.it
authors.forename: Corrado
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tamburino
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Capodanno
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mulè
authors.forename: Marilena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scarabelli
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cammalleri
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barbanti
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Calafiore
authors.forename: Gianpaolo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ussia
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000502:physiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome