In patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVI) with balloon-expandable valves, a simplified treatment pathway – called Benchmark – improves hospital efficiency, reduces length of stay and costs, while maintaining patient safety. This was revealed by new data from the Benchmark Registry in Italy, released today by Edwards Lifesciences.
TAVI – recalls a note – is a minimally invasive procedure that consists of replacing the aortic valve in patients suffering from severe aortic stenosis, a disease that has a significant impact on the quality of life and can lead to the patient's death. The newly released data, obtained from a larger European study, relate to 300 patients undergoing TAVI with balloon-expandable valves in 4 centers in Italy, to verify whether the implementation of a series of procedures tailored to the Benchmark pathway can reduce hospital and intensive care stays, ensuring patient safety. Based on the results obtained, patients undergoing TAVI using these optimized procedures recorded a reduction of 1.8 days (i.e. 21%) in the average length of hospital stay, maintaining clinical results at 30 days similar to those of patients treated in standard conditions.
“The results of this study – states Francesco Saia, president of the Italian Society of Interventional Cardiology (Gise) – demonstrate that the Benchmark program brings benefits to both patients and hospitals. In fact, with a reduction in the average hospital stay, the discharge rate early increases and patients' recovery is faster, without compromising their safety.” This result is considered particularly important in light of the shortage of personnel and resources in the healthcare system, particularly evident in the post-Covid-19 pandemic. “Hospitals – observes Saia – are increasingly under pressure. Strategies that allow us to increase the efficiency of hospitals are essential to free up beds and allow the most needy patients to be treated more promptly. Not to mention that minimally invasive procedures such as TAVI can prove fundamental to better manage any emergencies, such as the one we have recently experienced with the pandemic”.
Added to this aspect is that of the general aging of the population, by virtue of which an increase in the prevalence of the disease and in the number of people to be treated with this procedure is expected. “Health systems – underlines Luigi Mazzei, general director of Edwards Lifesciences Italia – need urgent solutions to resolve difficulties related to capacity and resources. These include the adoption of innovative processes to improve patient outcomes, the optimization of hospital capacity and resource management and overall create efficient practices without compromising patient safety.”
The Benchmark procedures – concludes the note – include the presence of a TAVI coordinator in the hospital, conscious anesthesia during the operation, communication of the steps to the patient throughout the process and his rapid mobilization after the procedure.
#Healthcare #TAVI #aortic #valve #Benchmark #path #improves #efficiency #safety
