Article Impact Level: HIGH Data Quality: STRONG Summary of European Heart Journal, ehae147. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehae147 Dr. Derk Frank et al.
Points
- The study evaluated the impact of implementing BENCHMARK best practices on TAVI efficiency and safety across 28 sites in 7 European countries.
- Primary objectives included reducing hospital length of stay (LOS) and duration of intensive care stay for patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis undergoing TAVI.
- Findings showed a significant reduction in mean LoS from 7.7 to 5.8 days and a decrease in the duration of intensive care from 1.8 to 1.3 days after the adoption of best practices.
- Implementing peri-procedure best practices led to increased use of local anesthesia and decreased procedure and intervention times.
- The study indicated that 30-day patient safety was not compromised, with no significant differences in all-cause mortality, stroke/transient ischemic attack, life-threatening bleeding, acute kidney injury, and valve-related readmission.
Summary
A study was conducted to assess the impact of implementing BENCHMARK best practices on transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) efficiency and safety across 28 sites in 7 European countries. The research aimed to streamline the clinical pathway for patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing TAVI with balloon-expandable valves. The primary objectives were to reduce hospital length of stay (LOS) and duration of intensive care stay, while the secondary objective was to ensure patient safety.
From January 2020 to March 2023, the study documented 897 patients before and 1491 patients after implementing BENCHMARK practices. The findings revealed that adopting peri-procedure best practices led to a reduction in mean LoS from 7.7 ± 7.0 to 5.8 ± 5.6 days and a decrease in the duration of intensive care from 1.8 to 1.3 days. Additionally, there was an increase in the use of local anesthesia and decreased procedure and intervention times. Notably, the study indicated that 30-day patient safety was not compromised, with no significant differences in all-cause mortality, stroke/transient ischemic attack, life-threatening bleeding, acute kidney injury, and valve-related readmission.
In conclusion, the broad implementation of BENCHMARK practices was associated with improved efficiency in the TAVI pathway, leading to reduced LoS and costs without compromising patient safety. These findings underscore the potential of best practice implementation to enhance the clinical pathway for TAVI, benefiting both patients and healthcare systems.
Link to the article: https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehae147/7637935
References Frank, D., Durand, E., Lauck, S., Muir, D. F., Spence, M., Vasa-Nicotera, M., Wood, D., Saia, F., Urbano-Carrillo, C. A., Bouchayer, D., Iliescu, V. A., Etienne, C. S., Leclercq, F., Auffret, V., Asmarats, L., Di Mario, C., Veugeois, A., Maly, J., Schober, A., … De La Bandera Sanchez, M. C. (2024). A streamlined pathway for transcatheter aortic valve implantation: The BENCHMARK study. European Heart Journal, ehae147. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehae147
