Clinical outcomes in women and men with small aortic annuli undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation: A multicenter, retrospective, propensity score-matched comparison

Background: Sex-specific characteristics in patients with aortic stenosis and small annuli undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) might affect clinical outcomes and hemodynamics. Methods: TAVI-SMALL 2 international retrospective registry included 1378 patients with severe aortic stenosis and small annuli (annular perimeter <72 mm or area < 400 mm2) treated with transfemoral TAVI at 16 high-volume centers between 2011 and 2020. Women (n = 1233) were compared with men (n = 145). One-to-one propensity score (PS) matching resulted in 99 pairs. Primary endpoint was incidence of all-cause mortality. Incidence of pre-discharge severe prosthesis-patient mismatch (PPM) and its association with all-cause mortality were investigated. Binary logistic and Cox regression were performed to adjust the treatment effect for PS quintiles. Results: Incidence of all-cause mortality at a median follow-up of 377 days did not differ between sex in the overall (10.3 vs. 9.8%, p = 0.842) and PS-matched (8.5 vs. 10.9%, p = 0.586) populations. After PS matching, pre-discharge severe PPM was numerically higher in women vs. men (10.2 vs. 4.3%), even though no evidence of a difference was found (p = 0.275). Within the overall population, women with severe PPM suffered a higher incidence of all-cause mortality when compared to those with less than moderate PPM (log-rank p = 0.024) and less than severe PPM (p = 0.027). Conclusions: No difference in all-cause mortality at medium-term follow-up was observed between women and men with aortic stenosis and small annuli undergoing TAVI. Incidence of pre-discharge severe PPM was numerically higher in women than men, and it was associated with increased all-cause mortality in women.