Mortality after aortic valve replacement: Results from a nationally representative database

Background. Nationally representative estimates of in-hospital mortality after aortic valve replacement are needed to evaluate whether results from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Cardiac Surgery Database are applicable to other institutions in the United States performing these procedures. Methods. Data from the 1994 Nationwide Inpatient Sample were used to estimate the patient characteristics and in-hospital mortality rates associated with aortic valve replacements performed in nonfederal hospitals in the United States. Procedural and hospital characteristics were examined for possible associations with in-hospital mortality. Results. An estimated 46,397 aortic valve replacements were performed. In-hospital mortality occurred in 4.3% of first-time isolated aortic valve replacements and 6.4% overall. The highest quartile of procedure-specific hospital volume, compared with the lowest quartile, was associated with lower in-hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio, 0.58; 95% confidence interval, 0.42 to 0.81). Conclusions. The in-hospital mortality rates observed in this study are very similar to those reported from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons database. These data provide substantial evidence that results from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons database are representative of those achieved at other institutions. However, procedure-specific hospital volume must be considered in applying these results to individual institutions. (Ann Thorac Surg 2000;70:1939-45) (C) 2000 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.