Characteristics and Outcomes After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Immunocompromised Patients

Abstract

Immunocompromised (IC) patients are at greater risk of adverse outcomes from cardiac surgery, and less invasive options for treating severe aortic stenosis among IC patients are often sought. However, despite greater preference for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in this population, there are limited data on outcomes in IC patients. Between January 2015 and December 2019, we studied patients with severe aortic stenosis who underwent TAVI. We defined IC status by the presence of active malignancy and receipt of oncologic treatment, post-organ transplantation-associated immunosuppression, human immunodeficiency virus, chronic steroid use (>5 mg/day), or active autoimmune disorder, and compared characteristics and outcomes of IC patients with those of non-IC patients. Of 173 patients who underwent TAVI, 56 (32%) were IC, 30 (54%) had active malignancy and underwent active treatment, 19 (34%) were IC without malignancy, and 7 (13%) were both IC and had active malignancy. IC patients, compared with non-IC patients, had similar baseline demographics, Society of Thoracic Surgeons risk scores (median 4.3% vs 4.4%), and overall complications (29% vs 26%). There were 37 deaths (16 IC and 21 non-IC) over a median follow-up of 17 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 14 to 20 months), and 1-year survival after TAVI was 84.0% for IC patients and 89.0% for non-IC patients (p = 0.51 by log-rank). After adjusting for Society of Thoracic Surgeons risk scores, IC patients had a nonsignificant trend toward greater risk of death compared with non-IC patients (adjusted hazard ratio 1.48, 95% CI 0.77 to 2.84). IC patients had a significantly smaller risk of cardiac-related death (adjusted hazard ratio 0.21, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.98) but a greater risk of noncardiac-related death (adjusted hazard ratio 4.14, 95% CI 1.71 to 10.0) than non-IC patients. In conclusion, IC patients who underwent TAVI have similar complication rates as non-IC patients, with a nonsignificant trend toward greater mortality, specifically related to noncardiac causes.