Risk Tool Predicts 30-Day Readmission Rates for TAVR Patients

April 30, 2018—The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) announced the presentation of a new study that evaluated the effectiveness of novel risk tool to predict 30-day readmission rates in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). The study, which was led by Sahil Khera, MD, was presented at the SCAI 2018 scientific sessions held April 25–28 in San Diego, California.

The tool calculates a score to help clinicians and medical professionals predict risk of 30-day readmission for TAVR patients and can easily be incorporated in patient electronic medical records (EMRs). The study investigators are planning to start using this tool and incorporating into EMRs in hospital systems across the country in the near future.

According to SCAI, the study analyzed patients in the Nationwide Readmissions Database who underwent TAVR from January 2013 to September 2015. Complex survey methods, hierarchical regression, and the ‘rms’ library were implemented to create a prediction ruler to determine probability for 30-day readmission. The study’s investigators performed an internal calibration with bootstrapping.

During the study period, a total of 39,305 patients underwent TAVR and 6,380 (16.2%) were readmitted within 30 days. The final risk tool included the following variables: chronic kidney disease, end-stage renal disease on dialysis, anemia, chronic lung disease, chronic liver disease, atrial fibrillation, length of stay > 5 days, acute kidney injury, and discharge disposition. The c-statistic of the model was 0.63. A score of 212 was associated with > 30% readmission rate, reported SCAI.