Low Contrast Strategies in TAVR: Feasibility and Outcomes to Prevent Renal Injury in Chronic Kidney Disease.

Abstract

Background: Contrast volume is a major risk factor for acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) after TAVR. Use of a low-contrast (LC) protocol in TAVR may reduce AKI without impacting other clinical outcomes.

Methods: TAVR patients with Stage 3b or worse CKD between 2015 and 2020 were grouped into LC and normal-contrast (NC). LC was defined as TAVR procedure contrast use (mL) less than estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR, mL/min/1.73 m²). The primary outcome was AKI, defined as creatinine elevation > 200% or ≥ 0.3 mg/dL from baseline. Secondary outcomes were 30-day mortality, length of stay, paravalvular leak at 30 days, new dialysis requirement, major vascular complication, re-admission, bleeding, and a composite primary endpoint of secondary outcomes. We performed a propensity-matched analysis, compared cohort outcomes, and stratified outcomes by AKI severity.

Results: Four hundred thirty-seven patients were analyzed. The LC group (n = 173) were more commonly male and had a lower baseline eGFR (31 vs. 33, p = 0.03) than the NC group (n = 264). After propensity-matching, AKI occurred less frequently in LC patients than in the NC patients (17.9 vs. 28.3%, p = 0.0217). There were no inter-group differences in mortality, new dialysis requirement, major vascular complications, bleeding, or re-admissions.

Conclusions: In TAVR patients with CKD, LC volume was associated with reduced risk of AKI, supporting a LC approach for TAVR in CKD patients.

Aims: We sought to evaluate the outcomes of a LC versus normal-contrast dose strategy in TAVR amongst patients with CKD.