OBJECTIVES
The INSPIRIS aortic valve combines the RESILIA proprietary tissue preservation process and an expandable stent frame to benefit future transcatheter valve-in-valve procedures. As the INSPIRIS valve became commercially available in 2017, mid-term outcome reports are scarce. We aimed to evaluate mid-term safety and echocardiographic performance of the INSPIRIS valve in comparison to its predecessor, the Magna Ease (ME).
METHODS
This study was a retrospective single-center study. Clinical results included early post-operative outcomes, mid-term mortality and readmission for cardiovascular cause or stroke. Echocardiographic follow-up was performed at discharge, 1-3 months, 6, 12 and 24 months. Clinical end-points analyses were accomplished with a propensity score matching analysis and follow-up echocardiographic data comparisons using pairwise analyses and linear-mixed effect models.
RESULTS
We included 953 patients who received an INSPIRIS (n = 488) or ME (n = 463) bioprosthesis between January 2018 and July 2021. In the matched population (n = 217 per group), no significant difference in short-term outcomes was observed, survival was similar at 30-months (INSPIRIS: 94% vs ME: 91%, p = 0.89), but freedom from readmission was higher in the INSPIRIS group (94% vs 86%, p = 0.014). INSPIRIS valves had a lower gradient at discharge (∼10 vs 14 mmHg, p < 0.001), 1-3 months (∼10 vs 12 mmHg, p < 0.001) and 24-months (∼11 vs 17 mmHg, p < 0.001) in paired analyses and significantly lower evolution of MG compared to ME.
CONCLUSIONS
This study represents the largest comparative evaluation of the INSPIRIS to the ME valves, which demonstrated safe clinical outcomes and favourable haemodynamic performance at 2 years. Long-term follow-up is underway.