Persistent Reduction in the Age Adjusted In-hospital Mortality Rate from Aortic Valve Surgery in The United State with Elimination of Gender Gap in Recent Years from 1988-2011

Background
Advancement in the surgical technique should translate into better outcome. The goal of this study was to evaluate mortality trend from aortic valve surgery in the United State using large inpatient database.

Methods
The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database was used to calculate the age-adjusted mortality rate from aortic valve surgery from 1988 to 2011 in the United State using ICD-9 coding for aortic valve surgery

Results
We found that age adjusted mortality rate from aortic valve surgery gradually decreased from 1988 until end of study in 2007 to lowest level with elimination of gender gap that was seen in early years. (For men age adjusted mortality rate from aortic valve surgery in 1988 was 438 per 100,000 with steady reduction to the lowest level of 214 per 100,000 in 2011 which remains unchanged from 2007. For women, age adjusted mortality from aortic valve surgery was 620 per 100,000 in 1988 with steady reduction to the lowest level of 235 per 100,000 in the year 2011) similar to male with stable rate since 2007.

Conclusions
Age adjusted mortality from aortic valve surgery has been gradually decreased in the last decade and remained stable at low level suggesting improvement in surgical technics and post-surgical care has led to better outcome.