Crestanello, Juan A.

Background Thoracic aortic aneurysm is common in patients with tetralogy of Fallot ( TOF ); the incidence of thoracic aortic dissection ( TAD ) is unknown, but generally considered to be uncommon. The purpose of this study was to determine incidence and risk factors for TAD in TOF patients. Methods and Results This work is a retrospective review of the National Inpatient Sample ( NIS ) database for cases of ascending TAD among all hospital admissions in adults with TOF , 2000–2014. Of 18 353 admissions in TOF patients, 11 (0.06%; 6 per 10 000 admissions) of these were TAD ‐related admissions. For the TAD ‐related admissions, mean age was 49.8±7.2 years; aortic surgical interventions were performed during 8 of the admissions, and overall in‐hospital mortality was 45% (5 of 11). Risk factors associated with TAD ‐related admission were age >60 years (odds ratio, 2.41; 95% CI, 1.23–3.25; P =0.013), male sex ( odds ratio, 6.91; 95% CI, 4.85–8.54; P <0.001), and hypertension (odds ratio, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.06–3.19; P =0.037). Conclusions This is the first population‐based study of TAD outcomes in patients with TOF , and it showed a low risk of TAD in this population. This has important clinical implication with regard to surveillance and surgical intervention. Given that prevalence of thoracic aortic aneurysm is higher in TOF patients compared with the general population; therefore, making clinical decisions based on outcomes data and practice guidelines derived from patients with degenerative and bicuspid aortic valve–related aortopathies may lead to overtreatment . Further studies are required to better understand the pathobiology of this disease in order to make evidence‐based recommendations for surveillance and treatment.

Abstract OBJECTIVES Limited literature is available on the best management strategy for tricuspid valve (TV) disease in adults. We sought to review our long-term outcomes of TV surgery with regard to survival and reoperation. METHODS A retrospective analysis of all patients ≥18 years of age [n = 2541, aged 67 ± 13years, 1433 (56%) females] who underwent first-time TV surgery between January 1993 and December 2013 was done. There were 1735 patients who received TV repair and 806 patients underwent replacement. A gradient boosting machine model was used to derive a propensity score for predicting replacement using 27 preoperative characteristics. Four hundred and eighteen propensity-matched pairs of TV repair and replacement were identified. Cox proportional hazard regression was used on the matched subset to determine the effect of replacement. RESULTS Functional TV regurgitation was present in 54% (n = 1369). A bioprosthesis was used in 84% (n = 680) of replacements, while 54% (n = 934) of TV repairs were ring annuloplasties. Operative mortality was 8% (n = 212). Overall survival was 54%, 29% and 13% at 5, 10 and 15 years, respectively. After propensity score matching, replacement was significantly associated with increased mortality [hazard ratio (HR) 1.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.18–2.00; P = 0.001]. The cumulative incidence of TV reoperation was similar between the 2 groups when accounting for the competing risk of death [Fine–Gray HR 1.56, 95% CI 0.9–2.8; P = 0.144]. CONCLUSIONS TV surgery is associated with poor outcomes due to multiple patient comorbidities. TV repair results in better survival compared to replacement in patients with similar comorbidities with no increased risk of getting a reoperation.