1-Year Outcomes After Transfemoral Transcatheter or Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement Results From the Italian OBSERVANT Study

This is an observational outcome study for the comparative effectiveness of SAVR–TAVR procedures for the treatment of severe aortic stenosis at 93 Italian centers. From the entire cohort of 5468 patients, 650 pairs of patients who underwent SAVR and transfemoral TAVR with similar baseline demographic and clinical characteristics were obtained using a propensity score method.

The primary endpoints of this analysis were death from any cause, and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) at 1 year. Transfemoral TAVR was comparable to surgical replacement with respect to 1-year rates of death from any cause, MACCE, and repeat hospitalization due to cardiac reasons. Nevertheless, in the TAVR group there was a higher incidence of paravalvular leak, major vascular damage and need for pacemaker.