Length of Stay in Older Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: Value of a Geriatric Approach

BACKGROUND: For patients with transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), increased length of stay (LOS) is associated with increased long-term mortality. The main objective of our study was to analyze the association between geriatrics factors and the hospital LOS for older patients undergoing TAVR for severe aortic stenosis. METHODS: This retrospective single-center study included all patients aged ≥75 who underwent TAVR between January 2018 and January 2019. Hospital LOS and postoperative complications were analyzed regarding the geriatric factors recorded during a systematic preoperative, comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA). The individualized-care plans established after the preoperative CGA were also analyzed. RESULTS: median LOS of the 196 patients included was 6 days (interquartile range: 4-8), and 29% of patients had prolonged LOS. In a multivariable analysis, the preoperative factors associated with a prolonged hospital LOS were EuroSCORE I (p value = 0.02), prior major neurocognitive disorders (p value = 0.01), femoral access (p value <0.001), all complications (p value <0.001), and discharge in a rehabilitation center (p value <0.001). One-fourth (27%) of the patients had at least 1 geriatric complication. After CGA, 69 patients did not need any geriatric recommendation, whereas for the 127 other patients, an individualized-care plan was established but only 46 (36%) of them were followed up. CONCLUSION: Our results favor the preoperative screening for major neurocognitive disorders in order to reduce LOS. Furthermore, the proposed individual-care plans after CGA were poorly followed. Practitioners may perceive the preoperative CGA as a screening tool, but its primary objective is to develop an individualized-care plan as a prehabilitation plan in order to optimize the physical, functional, and social issues.