Premium
Transcatheter aortic valve implantation during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Clinical expert opinion and consensus statement for Asia
Author(s) -
Tay Edgar L.,
Hayashida Kentaro,
Chen Mao,
Yin WeiHsien,
Park DukWoo,
Seth Ashok,
Kao HsienLi,
Lin MaoShin,
Ho KayWoon,
Buddhari Wacin,
Chandavimol Mann,
Posas FabioEnriques,
Nguyen Quang N.,
Kong William,
Rosli M. A.,
Hon Jimmy,
Firman Doni,
Lee Michael
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of cardiac surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.428
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1540-8191
pISSN - 0886-0440
DOI - 10.1111/jocs.14722
Subject(s) - medicine , pandemic , covid-19 , expert opinion , triage , aortic valve stenosis , stenosis , medical emergency , cardiology , intensive care medicine , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Objectives The impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the treatment of patient with aortic valve stenosis is unknown and there is uncertainty on the optimal strategies in managing these patients. Methods This study is supported and endorsed by the Asia Pacific Society of Interventional Cardiology. Due to the inability to have face to face discussions during the pandemic, an online survey was performed by inviting key opinion leaders (cardiac surgeon/interventional cardiologist/echocardiologist) in the field of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in Asia to participate. The answers to a series of questions pertaining to the impact of COVID‐19 on TAVI were collected and analyzed. These led subsequently to an expert consensus recommendation on the conduct of TAVI during the pandemic. Results The COVID‐19 pandemic had resulted in a 25% (10‐80) reduction of case volume and 53% of operators required triaging to manage their patients with severe aortic stenosis. The two most important parameters used to triage were symptoms and valve area. Periprocedural changes included the introduction of teleconsultation, preprocedure COVID‐19 testing, optimization of protests, and catheterization laboratory set up. In addition, length of stay was reduced from a mean of 4.4 to 4 days. Conclusion The COVID‐19 pandemic has impacted on the delivery of TAVI services to patients in Asia. This expert recommendation on best practices may be a useful guide to help TAVI teams during this period until a COVID‐19 vaccine becomes widely available.