Table 1. Association of Cardiologist Characteristics With Use of Intravascular Microaxial Left Ventricular Assist Device.
| No. (%) of cardiologist-years (n = 17 558)a | No. (%) of cardiologist-years in category performing ≥1 LVADb | Any LVAD performed, ARR (95% CI)c | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receipt of any payments from LVAD manufacturer | |||
| No | 11 222 (63.9) | 1068 (9.5) | 1 [Reference] |
| Yes | 6336 (36.1) | 1470 (23.2) | 2.04 (1.89-2.20) |
| Cardiologist characteristics | |||
| Sex | |||
| Male | 16 890 (96.2) | 2464 (14.6) | 1 [Reference] |
| Female | 668 (3.8) | 74 (11.1) | 0.86 (0.69-1.09) |
| Years since medical school graduationd | |||
| 0-9 | 791 (4.5) | 122 (15.4) | 1 [Reference] |
| 10-20 | 5629 (32.1) | 1064 (18.9) | 1.09 (0.92-1.29) |
| >20 | 10 097 (57.5) | 1272 (12.6) | 0.77 (0.65-0.92) |
| Physician census regiond | |||
| Northeast | 2946 (16.8) | 421 (14.3) | 1 [Reference] |
| Midwest | 3875 (22.1) | 567 (14.6) | 1.06 (0.93-1.20) |
| South | 7584 (43.2) | 1097 (14.5) | 1.01 (0.91-1.13) |
| West | 3144 (17.9) | 452 (14.4) | 1.03 (0.91-1.17) |
| Volume of PCIs per year, quartilee | |||
| 1 | 3372 (19.2) | 122 (3.6) | 1 [Reference] |
| 2 | 4230 (24.1) | 344 (8.1) | 2.05 (1.67-2.51) |
| 3 | 4585 (26.1) | 648 (14.1) | 3.36 (2.77-4.07) |
| 4 | 5371 (30.6) | 1424 (26.5) | 5.91 (4.91-7.13) |
| Performed any IABPs | |||
| No | 13 143 (74.9) | 1604 (12.2) | 1 [Reference] |
| Yes | 4415 (25.1) | 934 (21.2) | 1.35 (1.26-1.46) |
| Payments from IABP manufacturers | |||
| No | 17 186 (97.9) | 2459 (14.3) | 1 [Reference] |
| Yes | 372 (2.1) | 79 (21.2) | 1.17 (0.96-1.43) |
Abbreviations: ARR, adjusted risk ratio; IABP, intra-aortic balloon pump; LVAD, intravascular microaxial left ventricular assist device; PCI, percutaneous coronary intervention.
Column percentages, or percentage of observations in each category.
Row percentages, or percentage of observations within each category performing LVAD.
Denominator is 6398 cardiologists, of whom 5186 (81.1%) were included in the data set for all 3 years, 788 (12.3%) for 2 years, and 424 (6.6%) for 1 year.
Years since medical school graduation was missing for 1041 cardiologists. Years since medical school graduation data are based on the final year of available data per physician. Census region was missing for 9 cardiologists.
Quartile volume of data for PCIs per year is as follows: quartile 1, less than or equal to 3; quartile 2, 4 to 7; quartile 3, 8 to 13; and quartile 4, greater than or equal to 14.
Adjusted risk ratios are adjusted for physician sex, postgraduate year (categorized as <10, 10-20, and >20 years in training, as well as missing), census region, volume of PCIs per year (categorized in quartiles), study year (2016, 2017, or 2018), placement of any IABPs, and payments from IABP manufacturers.