Importance of Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index assessment in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement

Background: Nutritional condition is one marker of patients’ frailty. The Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) is a well-known marker of nutritional status. This study sought to assess the clinical outcomes of GNRI after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Methods: We evaluated the GNRI value of 1,613 patients who underwent TAVR using data from a Japanese multicenter registry. According to baseline GNRI, patients were classified into 3 groups: GNRI ≥92 (n = 1,085; 67.3%), GNRI 82-92 (n = 396; 24.6%), and GNRI ≤82 (n = 132; 8.2%). Baseline characteristics, procedural outcomes, and cumulative mortality rates were compared. In addition, GNRI correlations with other frailty components (gait speed, grip strength, and Clinical Frailty Scale) and Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) score were also evaluated. Results: Significantly increased mortality rates were observed across the 3 groups at 30 days (0.9%, 2.3%, and 6.8%, respectively; P <.001) and 1 year (6.5%, 16.4%, and 36.4%, respectively; P <.001). Both GNRI 82-92 and GNRI ≤82 (as a reference for GNRI ≥92) were independently associated with increased midterm mortality in the Cox regression multivariate model (hazard ratio: 1.97, 3.60; 95% confidence interval: 1.37-2.84, 2.30-5.64; P <.001, P <.001, respectively). The GNRI value was significantly correlated with gait speed (Spearman ρ = −0.15, P <.001), grip strength (ρ = 0.25, P <.001), Clinical Frailty Scale (ρ = −0.24, P <.001), and STS score (ρ = −0.29, P <.001). Conclusions: GNRI is related to both frailty components and the STS score and is an important surrogate marker for predicting worse clinical outcomes after TAVR. Assessment of the GNRI may be considered when deciding on TAVR.