Local against general anesthesia for transcatheter aortic valve replacement

Abstract

Background/Aims: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) poses significant challenges concerning anesthesia management. There is no consensus on the type of safer anesthesia for TAVR procedures. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of TAVR performed with trans-femoral approach under local anesthesia with sedation (LAS) against general anesthesia (GA).
 Methods: This observational and retrospective analysis included individuals who were admitted on a planned basis from 2016 to 2022 and underwent Transfemoral TAVR. Effectiveness and safety outcomes were evaluated at 30 days. İndividuals were separated into two groups: GA and LAS. Demographic characteristics and procedural data were recorded during hospitalization.
 Results: 115 patients were included, of whom 62 (53.9%) received LAS and 53 received GA (46.1%). 59 female (48.8%) patients with a mean age of 83.2±5.7 participated in the study. Successful TAVR procedure was performed in 100 (86.9%) of 115 patients with the transfemoral approach. The mean procedure time was 136.7±46.7 minutes, and the procedure time was shorter in patients who underwent LAS against GA (p=0.001). There were no differences among the groups including fluoroscopy time, contrast, and radiation dose (p>0.05). In 2 patients (3.2%), significant vascular complications necessitated immediate surgical intervention, necessitating a change in the anesthesia technique. Overall 30-day mortality was 5.2%, with no significant differences among the groups (GA 7.5% vs. LAS 3.2%, p =0.28). GA had substantially longer ICU and total hospitalization stays than LAS (p=0.009 and p =0.004, respectively).
 Conclusions: In our study, TAVR via the transfemoral route using LAS was an alternative for GA.