Perioperative changes in frailty status among patients over 90 years of age who have undergone transcatheter aortic valve implantation

Abstract Background Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has become a widely accepted treatment option for elderly patients with aortic stenosis (AS), including those over 90 years of age. To investigate frailty changes in cases of TAVI performed on super-elderly individuals, this study assessed the variations in different frailty indices before and after the procedure. Methods and Results The study included 30 consecutive cases, accounting for 7.3% of the total 411 TAVI cases. There were no preoperative and postoperative changes in grip strength (16.9 ± 7.3 vs. 15.5 ± 7.5 kgf, p = 0.11), the Mini-Mental State Examination (25 ± 4 vs. 24 ± 5 points, p = 0.70), or the Short Physical Performance Battery (8.3 ± 3.0 vs. 7.7 ± 2.9 points, p = 0.37). The only index that decreased was the gait speed (0.8 ± 0.3 vs. 0.7 ± 0.3 m/s, p < 0.01). The gait speed slightly decreased, but it did not significantly impact the SPPB. Conclusions Even in patients aged 90 years or older who were carefully selected for TAVI, frailty indices remained largely unchanged before and after the TAVI procedure. This suggests that it is possible to safely treat AS without exacerbating frailty, even in super-elderly individuals.