Remote Surgical Discussion of Multivessel Coronary Artery Disease Patients without Surgery on Site-Retrospective Insights

Objective: The heart team approach is highly advocated for in treatment decision making in patients with multivessel disease (MVD). Nevertheless, many centers lack on-site cardiac surgical services (CSS)/formal heart team. Our local alternative is of remote surgical consultation without a structured...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ariel Roguin, Simha-Ron Meisel, Yaniv Levi, Ofer Kobo, Majd Yehia, Naama Amsalem, Rami Abu Fanne
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-12-01
Series:Journal of Clinical Medicine
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/13/1/103
Description
Summary:Objective: The heart team approach is highly advocated for in treatment decision making in patients with multivessel disease (MVD). Nevertheless, many centers lack on-site cardiac surgical services (CSS)/formal heart team. Our local alternative is of remote surgical consultation without a structured image sharing platform. In our understanding, the incidence of anatomical complete revascularization (ACR) under this daily practice, and its clinical impact, has not been discussed before. Methods: We analyzed 477 consecutive patients who were surgically revascularized between January 2009 and March 2018 for MVD, after remote surgical consultation. Unstable, late arrival, and ST elevation patients were excluded (<i>n</i> = 163). ACR was considered grafting all anatomic lesions > 50%. Syntax score (SS) calculation and ACR categorization were determined by an independent interventionalist using diagnostic angiograms and available operative reports (<i>n</i> = 267). Patients’ outcomes were assessed in relation to multiple clinical variables including troponin result and the revascularization status. Results: Three hundred and fourteen patients were included. Mean age was 64 years, and mean SS-II was 27.3 ± 11. At the 4-year follow-up, the observed mortality (11.8% and 12.9%, with troponin-positive and -negative groups, respectively), myocardial infarction (11.8%), and repeat revascularization (9.8%) were higher than those predicted using a nomogram depicting the predicted 4-year mortality as a function of the SYNTAX II Score (5.3%, 8.8%, and 3.5%, respectively, <i>p</i> = 0.02). ACR was reported in 33% of 267 available patients’ reports. After multivariate adjustment ACR was the only variable associated with a significant increase in 4-year mortality (12.3% vs. 6.7%, <i>p</i> < 0.05). Conclusions: Partial revascularization in the absence of on-site CSS and a structured heart team platform is a frequent occurrence. Not surprisingly, this occurrence was associated with a higher risk for mid-term mortality. An upfront, structured, virtual, heart team interface is mandatory to particularly prioritize the completeness of revascularization when considering the optimal revascularization mode.
ISSN:2077-0383