Aims: To evaluate the safety and feasibility of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) via femoral access under local anesthesia only (without concomitant sedation) as the initial strategy.
Methods and results: Patients undergoing planned transfemoral TAVI without routine general anesthesia between May 2005 and December 2013 were identified. Baseline characteristics, procedural outcomes, and a 30-day clinical follow-up were obtained. A total of 215 patients underwent TAVI with local anesthesia only as the initial strategy (LA group). Of these patients, 40 (18.6%) received additional sedation (LAS group) during the procedure due to inadequate pain control or agitation and 7 patients (3.3%) underwent conversion to general anesthesia (GA group). TAVI was successfully performed in 211 cases (98.2%). When 30-day outcomes for patients requiring only local anesthesia were compared with patients requiring additional sedation, there was a significantly longer duration of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay in the group with additional sedation (LAS, 5.0 days [range, 3.0-6.0 days] vs LA 3 days [range, 2.0-5.0 days]; P=.02) and general anesthesia (GA 7.0 days [range, 2.5-18.0 days] vs LA 3 days [range, 2.0-5.0]; P=.04).
Conclusion: Our study suggests that TAVI with LA only as the initial strategy is a feasible alternative to GA, with potential benefit of this strategy over using routine concomitant sedation. LA only may be considered a primary option in many patients.