title: Frequency, determinants and prognostic implications of infectious complications after transcatheter aortic valve implantation.
abstract: In-hospital infection (IHI) after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has received little attention, although it may have a significant effect on outcomes and costs because of prolonged hospital stay. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the incidence, type, predictors, and prognostic effects of IHI after TAVI. This study included 298 consecutive patients from 2 centers who underwent TAVI from November 2005 to November 2011. IHI during the hospital stay was defined on the basis of symptoms and signs assessed by the attending physician in the cardiac care unit or medium care unit in combination with all technical examinations performed to confirm infection. IHI after TAVI was observed in 58 patients (19.5%): urinary tract infections in 25 patients (43.1%), pneumonia in 12 patients (20.7%), and access-site infections in 7 patients (12.1%). In 12 patients (20.7%), the site of infection could not be determined, and 2 patients (3.4%) had multiple infection sites. Multivariate analysis revealed that surgical access through the femoral artery was the most important determinant of infection (odds ratio [OR] 4.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02 to 17.19), followed by perioperative major stroke (OR 3.21, 95% CI 1.01 to 9.52) and overweight (body mass index ≥25 kg/m²; OR 2.27, 95% CI 1.12 to 4.59). The length of hospital stay in patients with IHIs was 15.0 days (interquartile range 8.0 to 22.0) compared with 7.0 days (interquartile range 4.0 to 10.0) in patients without infections (p <0.0001). Kaplan-Meier estimates of survival at 1 year were 76.6% and 74.4% (log-rank, p = 0.61), respectively. Unadjusted and adjusted OR analysis revealed that IHI did not predict mortality at 30 days (OR 1.27, 95% CI 0.49 to 3.30) or at 1 year (hazard ratio 1.24, 95% CI 0.68 to 2.25). In conclusion, IHI occurred in 19.5% of the patients. Patient-related and, more important, procedure-related variables play a role in the occurrence of infection, indicating that improvements in the execution of TAVI may lead to a reduction of this complication.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Robert M A
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: van der Boon
authors.forename: Rutger-Jan
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Nuis
authors.forename: Luis M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Benitez
authors.forename: Nicolas M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Van Mieghem
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Perez
authors.forename: Lidsa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.forename: Robert-Jan
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: van Geuns
authors.forename: Patrick W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Serruys
authors.forename: Ron T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: van Domburg
authors.forename: Antonio E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Dager
authors.forename: Peter P T
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: de Jaegere
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019072:Antibiotic Prophylaxis; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000601:surgery*; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016459:Prosthesis-Related Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome