Sex disparities in outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve implantation- a multi-year propensity-matched nationwide study

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Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) has revolutionized the management of severe aortic stenosis (AS), but the impact of sex on TAVI outcomes remains unclear. In this study, we examined differences between men and women in the post-procedural outcomes of TAVI, including healthcare burden and readmission rates. The Nationwide Readmissions Database (2016–2020) was utilized to identify hospitalizations for TAVI. A propensity score matching (PSM) model was used to match males and females. Outcomes were examined using Pearson's chi-squared test. Among 320,324 hospitalizations for TAVI, 142,054 (44.3 %) procedures were performed in women. After propensity matching (N = 165,894 with 82,947 hospitalizations in each group), women had higher in-hospital mortality (2.48 % vs 2.11 %, p: 0.001), stroke (2.14 % vs 1.49 %, p < 0.001), post-procedural bleeding (2.34 % vs 1.72 %, p < 0.001), vascular complications (1.2 % vs 0.7 %, p < 0.001), pericardial complications (1.13 % vs 0.60 %, p < 0.001), acute respiratory failure (ARF) (5.10 % vs 4.63 %, p < 0.001), need for transfusion (7 % vs 5.56 %, p < 0.001), need for vasopressors (2.48 % vs 2.11 %, p < 0.001) and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) (7.53 % vs 6.85 %, p < 0.001). Meanwhile, women had modestly lower incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) (10.17 % vs 11.88 %, p < 0.001), sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) (0.96 % vs 1.06 %, p: 0.042), cardiogenic shock (1.69 % vs 2.05 %, p < 0.001) and mechanical circulatory support (MCS) requirement (0.69 % vs 0.84 %, p < 0.001). With regard to readmissions, men had higher readmission rates at 30 days (16.07 % vs 14.75 %, p < 0.001) and 90 days (23.8 % vs 21.9 %, p < 0.001). No significant difference was observed in 180-day readmission rates between men and women after TAVI. Notably, procedure-related mortality decreased for both sexes from 2016 to 2020, accompanied by faster recovery times and reduced hospitalization costs (p-trend <0.001). In conclusion, women had higher mortality and post-procedural complication rates, while men had higher readmission rates, cardiogenic shock, AKI and need for mechanical circulatory support. While procedure-related mortality and resource utilization for TAVI have improved over time from 2016 to 2020, irrespective of sex, our findings highlight that significant disparities exist in TAVI outcomes.