Report: Extra insights, but no clear-cut answers from TAVR embolic protection studies

Data from two new studies has provided extra insights, but no clear-cut solution for predicting stroke and which patients should receive embolic protection devices during transcatheter aortic valve replacement procedures, according to a new Medscape report. Results from a meta-analysis of 1,285 patients indicated that the use of embolic protection devices during TAVR procedures did not reduce mortality, but was associated with a lowered rate of stroke at 30 days, according to the report. The decline was mainly driven by registry data and was not confirmed by randomized controlled trials, Medscape specified. Stroke was reported in 4.8% of patients treated with embolic protection devices, and at 6% in those without. At 30 days, mortality was similar between both groups with stroke rates significantly lower for patients treated with embolic protection. Data indicated an 80% rate of new silent ischemic cerebral lesions, with no differences between patients treated with embolic protection devices and those without, according to the report. “The available literature does not support the routine use of cerebral protection in patients undergoing TAVR. It should be considered in selected patients who are at high risk of embolization from the aortic valve, root and arch,” study author Dr. Luca Testa of Milan, Italy’s IRCCS Policlinico San Donato said, according to Medscape. A separate substudy, from Claret Medical‘s Sentinel trial, showed a trend towards stroke reduction w...
Source: Mass Device - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Cardiovascular Catheters Clinical Trials Claret Medical Inc. Source Type: news