BACKGROUND

Nearly 17% of patients are readmitted within 30 days of discharge after transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Selected patients are discharged to skilled nursing facilities, yet the association between a hospital's practice to discharge home versus to skilled nursing facilities, and readmission remains unclear.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons/American College of Cardiology Transcatheter Valve Therapy (STS/ACC TVT) Registry was used to evaluate readmissions among patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (2011-2015). Hospitals were divided into quartiles (Q1-Q4) based on the percentage of patients discharged directly home. We assessed patient and hospital level characteristics and used hierarchical logistic regression to analyze the association of discharge disposition with 30-day readmission. Our cohort included 18 568 transcatheter aortic valve replacement patients at 329 US hospitals, of whom 69% were discharged directly home. Hospitals in the highest quartile of direct home discharge (Q4) compared with hospitals in the lowest (Q1) were more likely to use femoral access (75.2% versus 60.1%, <0.001), had fewer patients receiving transfusion (26.4% versus 40.9%, <0.001), and were more likely to be located in the Southern United States (48.8% versus 18.3%, <0.001). Median 30-day readmission rate was 17.9%. There was no significant difference in 30-day readmissions among quartiles (=0.14), even after multivariable adjustment (odds ratio Q4 versus Q1=0.89, 95%CI 0.76-1.04; =0.15). Factors most strongly associated with 30-day readmission were glomerular filtration rate, in-hospital stroke or transient ischemic attack, and nonfemoral access.

CONCLUSIONS

There was no statistically significant association between hospital practice of direct home discharge post-transcatheter aortic valve replacement and 30-day readmission. Further research is needed to understand regional variations and optimum strategies for postdischarge care.