Morbidity and Mortality Due to Deferral of Aortic Valve Replacement in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis (AS DEFER)

March 13, 2023 updated by: University Hospital Inselspital, Berne

Morbidity and Mortality Due to Deferral of Aortic Valve Replacement in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis - a Collateral Effect of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic (AS DEFER)

Background and Project Rationale:

Degenerative aortic valve stenosis affects 2% of the elderly population aged 70 years or older and progresses insidiously with advancing age [1] before manifesting with symptoms such as decreased exercise tolerance, shortness of breath, chest pain and syncope on exertion. Without aortic valve replacement, the survival prognosis of patients with symptomatic aortic stenosis is poor. In the PARTNER 1B trial, all-cause mortality among 179 inoperable patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis allocated to conservative management amounted to 51% at one year [2]. Consistently, prospective registry data reported a mortality rate of 55% at 1 year in 78 patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing conservative management [3].

The rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic represents an unprecedented challenge for healthcare systems. A limited number of ventilators and ICU beds call for a careful allocation of healthcare resources. On March 20 2020, the Federal Council prohibited elective interventions in all hospitals in Switzerland. Patients with untreated severe aortic stenosis are particularly vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection [4] and face the dual risk of cardiac death from aortic stenosis on one side, and death from acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to SARS-CoV-2 infection on the other. While the balance between the two risks is a matter of clinical judgement, the investigators established an algorithm for the management of patients with severe aortic stenosis during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Patients with aortic stenosis deemed critical will undergo valvular replacement in spite of the ongoing pandemic while patients with severe but not critical aortic stenosis will undergo deferred intervention once the number of new SARS-CoV-2 infections flattens.

In the current situation, aortic valve replacement in patients with severe, non-critical aortic stenosis will be deferred in order to give priority to SARS-CoV-2 patients. This unique situation allows the investigators to study the effect of deferral of aortic valve replacement in patients with severe aortic stenosis.

The study is an amendment to the Swiss-TAVI registry. In contrast to the Swiss-TAVI registry, patients are not enrolled at the time of aortic valve replacement, but already at the time of referral for aortic valve replacement.

Primary Objective:

The aim of the present observational study is to explore the effect of deferral of valvular replacement in patients with severe but not critical aortic stenosis on morbidity and mortality. The primary objective is to describe rates of morbidity and mortality among patients with severe but not critical aortic stenosis in the interval from referral/indication for valvular replacement to intervention.

Project Design:

The study is a prospective cohort study of patients with severe aortic stenosis referred for aortic valve replacement. All referrals for aortic valve replacement will be allocated to either "transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)/ surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) (standard of care)" or "deferred intervention" based on prespecified criteria. Patients with critical aortic stenosis as defined by an aortic valve area (AVA) <0.6 cm2 or a transvalvular mean gradient of >60 mmHg or a history of cardiac decompensation during the previous 3 months or clinical symptoms on minimal exertion (NYHA III) will be allocated to TAVR or SAVR. All other patients with severe aortic stenosis defined by an AVA <1.0 cm2 will be scheduled for a deferred intervention.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

71

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Switzerland
      • Bern, Switzerland, 3010
        • Department of Cardiology, Bern University Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The project population comprises all consecutive patients with severe aortic stenosis referred for aortic valve replacement (TAVR or SAVR) since March 20 2020 until the end of the prohibition of elective interventions in Switzerland.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≥ 18 years
  • Patients with severe AS defined by an AVA <1cm2 or AVA indexed to BSA of <0.6 cm2/m2, including low-flow severe aortic stenosis defined by SVI <35ml/m2.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Life expectancy <1 year irrespective of severe AS.
  • Severe dementia defined as MMS-Test <16 points.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
TAVR/SAVR
Patients with critical aortic stenosis as defined by an AVA <0.6 cm2 or a transvalvular mean gradient of >60 mmHg or a history of cardiac decompensation during the previous 3 months or clinical symptoms on minimal exertion (NYHA III) will be allocated to transcatheter aortic valve replacement or surgical aortic valve replacement.
Device: TAVR or SAVR
Patients with critical aortic stenosis as defined by an AVA <0.6 cm2 or a transvalvular mean gradient of >60 mmHg or a history of cardiac decompensation during the previous 3 months or clinical symptoms on minimal exertion (NYHA III) will be allocated to TAVR or SAVR.
Deferred Intervention
Patients with severe but not critical aortic Stenosis will undergo deferred intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Composite of all-cause mortality, disabling and non-disabling stroke, and hospitalization for heart failure
Time Frame: Assessed at 6 months after indication/referral for aortic valve replacement.
Assessed at 6 months after indication/referral for aortic valve replacement.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University Hospital Inselspital, Berne

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 20, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 30, 2021

Study Completion (Actual)

April 30, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 1, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 1, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

April 3, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 14, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 13, 2023

Last Verified

March 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2020-00672

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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