Predictors of length of stay and duration of tracheal intubation after transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Background: While short-term outcomes for patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) have long been studied, there is very little data on their predictors. We aimed to identify the predictors of outcomes, such as intensive care unit (ICU) and in-hospital length of stay (LOS), duration of postoperative intubation and in-hospital mortality, after TAVI procedures.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 162 consecutive patients with aortic valve disease, who were admitted to a tertiary hospital of Liverpool for TAVI, during a five-year period. The data was collected using of the hospital's structured database on November 2014.

Results: By using a multivariate analysis we found that any postoperative bleeding [odds ratio (OR) 2.71; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.41-5.24] was the independent predictor of prolonged ICU-LOS, while older age (OR 1.11; 95% CI: 1.05-1.17) and transapical TAVI (OR 4.11; 95% CI: 1.94-8.71) were the predictors of prolonged in-hospital LOS. Additionally, patients treated with oral inotropic agents, preoperatively (OR 5.77; 95% CI: 2.21-15.01), non-diabetics (OR 3.07; 95% CI: 1.12-8.42) and those with any postoperative bleeding (OR 3.53; 95% CI: 1.68-7.43) had a significantly greater probability in remaining intubated postoperatively. The multivariate analysis did not reveal any predictor of in-hospital mortality.

Conclusions: The above predictors permit the early identification of TAVI patients at high risk for longer hospitalization and increased mechanical ventilation. This piece of information is crucial for clinicians and administrators contributing to more efficient patient care planning and better allocation of healthcare resources.