Long-term outcomes with medical therapy, transcatheter repair, or surgery for isolated tricuspid regurgitation: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Several transcatheter tricuspid valve (TV) repair devices for tricuspid regurgitation (TR) have emerged. However, few studies have compared transcatheter TV repair with medical therapy (MT) alone or isolated TV surgery.

PubMed and EMBASE were searched in February 2024. Studies comparing at least any of the following 2 were included: MT, surgical TV repair, surgical TV replacement, or transcatheter TV repair. The primary outcome was long-term mortality (≧ 1 year). The secondary outcomes were short-term mortality (30-day or in-hospital mortality) and periprocedural complications. We performed a network meta-analysis using a random effects model.

A total of 25,831 patients from 22 studies (one randomized trial and 21 observational studies) were included. MT alone was associated with higher long-term mortality compared to surgical TV repair (HR [95% CI] 1.72 [1.34–2.23]), surgical TV replacement (HR [95% CI] 1.49 [1.14–1.96]), and transcatheter TV repair (HR [95% CI] 1.52 [1.30–1.78]). Long-term mortality was comparable between transcatheter and surgical interventions. Transcatheter TV repair had a lower risk of short-term mortality (versus surgical TV repair; RR [95% CI] 0.40 [0.22–0.72], versus surgical TV replacement; RR [95% CI] 0.35 [0.19–0.66]) and lower rates of periprocedural complications, including new pacemaker implantation, renal complications, cardiogenic shock than surgical interventions.

MT alone for TR was associated with higher long-term mortality compared to surgical or transcatheter TV interventions. Transcatheter TV repair had better periprocedural outcomes compared to surgical interventions with similar long-term mortality. Despite the possibility of selection bias, transcatheter TV repair appears to be an attractive option for TR treatment.