Fast Track Concept for Transfemoral TAVI

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in high-risk patients with severe aortic valve stenosis has developed itself until today as an established minimally invasive alternative procedure worldwide, with a focus on the transfemoral access (TF-TAVI). Meanwhile a number of studies have shown that analgosedation for patients undergoing TF-TAVI is a safe and feasible alternative to general anaesthesia (1). The median length of stay in hospital in Europe is currently 8 days independent to the anesthesia management (2). In the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, a new TF-TAVI fast-track-concept has been implemented in June 2018. The main intraprocedural aspects of the concept are the preprocedural fluid optimization using transthoracic echocardiography, the idea to decrease or omit the central venous line and the urinary catheter, if reasonable, and finally the individualized low-dose, bolus-based AS.