Badhwar, Vinay

Abstract Objectives In an effort to maintain the technical aspects of traditional prosthetic surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) while reducing invasiveness and facilitate options for concomitant operations, transaxillary lateral mini-thoracotomy endoscopic robotic-assisted aortic valve replacement (RAVR) has been introduced. The present data highlight the contemporary international collaborative experience. METHODS All consecutive patients undergoing standardized RAVR across 10 international sites (1/2020–7/2024) were evaluated using a central database with 1 year follow-up. RESULTS A total of 300 patients were analysed with a median predicted risk of 1.6% with aortic stenosis in 85.7%, nearly half with bicuspid valves. Biological prostheses were implanted in 220 (73.3%) with a median valve size 23 mm, 10% receiving aortic root enlargement, with 17% of all patients undergoing concomitant procedures. Median cross-clamp 120 min with no conversions to sternotomy. Median length of stay was 5 days, 4.3% with prolonged ventilation, 1.7% renal failure, 1.0% stroke and 8.3% required re-thoracotomy for evacuation of haemothorax. There were two 30-day operative mortalities (0.7%). The new permanent pacemaker rate for the full cohort was 2.6%. Of 163 patients with complete 1-year clinical and echocardiographic follow-up, mean aortic valve gradient was 10 mmHg and all but 2 patients (1.2%) had trace to no prosthetic or paravalvular insufficiency. CONCLUSIONS RAVR is safe and effective, providing the reproducible benefits of surgical AVR while affording a less invasive approach that permits the opportunity for concomitant procedures. For low and intermediate risk patients with aortic valve disease, RAVR is a potential reproducible alternative for patients and heart teams.

Background Data on national trends in mortality due to infective endocarditis (IE) in the United States are limited. Methods and Results Utilizing the multiple causes of death data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Wide‐Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research database from 1999 to 2020, IE and substance use were identified using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification codes. Between 1999 and 2020, the IE‐related age‐adjusted mortality rates declined. IE‐related crude mortality accelerated significantly in the age groups 25–34 years (average annual percentage change, 5.4 [95% CI, 3.1–7.7]; P <0.001) and 35–44 years (average annual percentage change, 2.3 [95% CI, 1.3–3.3]; P <0.001), but remained stagnant in those aged 45–54 years (average annual percentage change, 0.5 [95% CI, −1.9 to 3]; P =0.684), and showed a significant decline in those aged ≥55 years. A concomitant substance use disorder as multiple causes of death in those with IE increased drastically in the 25–44 years age group ( P <0.001). The states of Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia showed an acceleration in age‐adjusted mortality rates in contrast to other states, where there was predominantly a decline or static trend for IE. Conclusions Age‐adjusted mortality rates due to IE in the overall population have declined. The marked acceleration in mortality in the 25‐ to 44‐year age group is a cause for alarm. Regional differences with acceleration in IE mortality rates were noted in Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia. We speculate that this acceleration was likely due mainly to the opioid crisis that has engulfed several states and involved principally younger adults.