Background Whether the poor outcomes of isolated tricuspid valve surgery are related to the operation itself or to certain patient characteristics including late referral is unknown. Methods and Results Adult patients who underwent isolated tricuspid valve surgery were identified in the Nationwide Readmissions Database (2016-2017). Patients who had redo tricuspid valve surgery, endocarditis, or congenital heart disease were excluded. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify contributors to postoperative mortality. A total of 1513 patients were included (mean age 55.7±16.6 years, 49.6% women). Surrogates of late referral were frequent: 41% of patients were admitted with decompensated heart failure, 44.3% had a nonelective surgery status, 16.8% had advanced liver disease, and 31% had an unplanned hospitalization in the prior 90 days. The operation was performed on day 0 to 1 of the hospitalization in only 50% of patients, and beyond day 10 in 22% of patients. In-hospital mortality occurred in 8.7% of patients. Median length of stay was 14 days (7-35 days), and median cost was $87 223 ($43 122-$200 872). In multivariable logistic regression analysis, surrogates for late referrals (acute heart failure decompensation, nonelective surgery status, or advanced liver disease) were the strongest predictors of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio [OR], 4.75; 95% CI, 2.74-8.25 [P<0.001]). This was also consistent in a second model incorporating unplanned hospitalizations in the 90 days before surgery as a surrogate for late referral (OR, 5.50; 95% CI, 2.28-10.71 [P<0.001]). Conclusions The poor outcomes of isolated tricuspid valve surgery may be largely explained by the late referral for intervention. Studies are needed to determine the role of early intervention for severe isolated tricuspid regurgitation.
Keywords: heart failure; tricuspid regurgitation; tricuspid valve repair; tricuspid valve replacement.