This study confirms the importance of monitoring a combination of several biomarkers in order to obtain a reliable diagnosis. Maximal presepsin levels could alert clinicians not to suspend antibiotic treatments and to carefully monitor septic patients' state of health, even after clinical symptoms have disappeared and PCT levels returned to normal.

Background. Several studies reported high rates of postoperative permanent pacemaker (PPM) implantation, which has been described as the "Achilles' heel" of sutureless aortic valve replacement (AVR).Methods. From July 2010 to December 2017, 3,158 patients with symptomatic, severe aortic valve stenosis were referred to the

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Objective To compare procedural and in-hospital outcomes of patients undergoing sutureless (Perceval, Livanova PLC, London, UK) and rapid deployment (Intuity Elite, Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, USA) aortic valve replacement (group 1) versus sutured aortic valve replacement (group 2). Methods Patients receiving isolated aortic valve replacement between 2014 and 2020 were analysed using data from the Sutureless and Rapid Deployment International Registry. Patients in group 1 and group 2 were propensity-score matched in a 1:1 ratio. Results A total of 7708 patients were included in the study. After matching, 2 groups of 2643 each were created. Patients in group 1 were more likely to undergo minimally invasive approaches and were associated with shorter operative times when compared with group 2. Overall in-hospital mortality was similar between groups. While an increased risk of stroke was observed in group 1 in the first study period (2014–2016) (relative risk 3.76, p < 0.001), no difference was found in more recent year period (relative risk 1.66, p = 0.08)(p for heterogeneity 0.003). Group 1 was associated with reduced rates of postoperative low cardiac output syndrome, atrial fibrillation and mild aortic regurgitation. New pacemaker implant was three-fold higher in group 1. Conclusions Our findings showed significant differences in procedural and clinical outcomes between the study groups. These results suggest that sutureless and rapid deployment aortic valve replacement should be considered as part of a comprehensive valve program. The knowledge of the respective post-aortic valve replacement benefits for different valve technologies may result in patient-tailored valve selection with improved clinical outcomes.

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