Pharmacological approaches to cardio-renal syndrome: a role for the inodilator levosimendan

Levosimendan use in patients with acute heart failure and reduced ejection fraction with or without severe renal dysfunction in critical cardiac care units: a multi-institution database study

Background

Acute heart failure is a life-threatening clinical condition. Levosimendan is an effective inotropic agent used to maintain cardiac output, but its usage is limited by the lack of evidence in patients with severely abnormal renal function. Therefore, we analyzed data of patients with acute heart failure with and without abnormal renal function to examine the effects of levosimendan.

Methods

We performed this retrospective cohort study using data from the Chang Gung Research Database (CGRD) of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH). Patients admitted for heart failure with LVEF ≤ 40% between January 2013 and December 2018 who received levosimendan or dobutamine in the critical cardiac care units (CCU) were identified. Patients with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) were excluded. Outcomes of interest were mortality at 30, 90, and 180 days after the cohort entry date.

Results

There were no significant differences in mortality rate at 30, 90, and 180 days after the cohort entry date between the levosimendan and dobutamine groups, or between subgroups of patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥ 30 mL/min/1.73 m² and eGFR < 30 mL/min/1.73 m² or on dialysis. The results were consistent before and after propensity score matching.

Conclusions

Levosimendan did not increase short- or long-term mortality rates in critical patients with acute heart failure and reduced ejection fraction compared to dobutamine, regardless of their renal function. An eGFR less than 30 mL/min/1.73 m² was not necessarily considered a contraindication for levosimendan in these patients.

Differential effects of inotropes and inodilators on renal function in acute cardiac care

Pathological interplay between the heart and kidneys is widely encountered in heart failure (HF) and is linked to worse prognosis and quality of life. Inotropes, along with diuretics and vasodilators, are a core medical response to HF but decompensated patients who need inotropic support often present with an acute worsening of renal function. The impact of inotropes on renal function is thus potentially an important influence on the choice of therapy. There is currently relatively little objective data available to guide the selection of inotrope therapy but recent direct observations on the effects of levosimendan and milrinone on glomerular filtration favour levosimendan. Other lines of evidence indicate that in acute decompensated HF levosimendan has an immediate renoprotective effect by increasing renal blood flow through preferential vasodilation of the renal afferent arterioles and increases in glomerular filtration rate: potential for renal medullary ischaemia is avoided by an offsetting increase in renal oxygen delivery. These indications of a putative reno-protective action of levosimendan support the view that this calcium-sensitizing inodilator may be preferable to dobutamine or other adrenergic inotropes in some settings by virtue of its renal effects. Additional large studies will be required, however, to clarify the renal effects of levosimendan in this and other relevant clinical situations, such as cardiac surgery.

Multiorgan Drug Action of Levosimendan in Critical Illnesses

Cardiotonic drugs mainly include digitalis, catecholamines, phosphodiesterase inhibitors, and calcium sensitizers, which have been successively discovered and applied in clinical practice. However, there are only a few new drugs available in this field, and the selection is very limited. Digitalis, catecholamines, and phosphodiesterase inhibitors increase myocardial contractility by increasing intracellular concentrations of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and Ca²⁺, and this increase in intracellular calcium ion concentration enhances myocardial oxygen consumption and causes arrhythmia. For these reasons, the research focus on positive inotropic agents has shifted from calcium mobilization to calcium sensitization. Intracellular calcium sensitizers are more effective and safer drugs because they do not increase the intracellular concentration of calcium ions. However, only three calcium sensitizers have been fully developed and used in the past three decades. One of these drugs, levosimendan, has multiple molecular targets and exerts its pharmacological effects by not only increasing myocardial contractility, but also enhancing respiratory muscle function and liver and kidney protection, and it is useful for patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. Recently, more than 60 randomized controlled clinical trials of levosimendan have been reported; however, these clinical trials have occasionally shown different findings. This article reviews the research progress of levosimendan in critical illnesses in recent years.

Myocardial remodeling after kidney transplantation: a case report

Background

Lupus nephritis (LN) is one of the most common manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and is often the most serious organ complication and the cause of premature death of such a patient. Most of other organs and systems can be also affected. A typical complication is a cardiovascular involvement leading to the development of heart failure. According to current therapeutic standards, kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice in patients with renal failure in course of LN. On the contrary, a kidney transplantation in a patient with an additional heart disease poses a serious clinical challenge.

Case presentation

We present a case of a 49-year-old woman with renal and heart failure following a long-term SLE prepared for kidney transplantation. During the SLE course, the function of the heart and kidneys gradually deteriorated. The patient required the initiation of renal replacement therapy and was dialyzed until a kidney transplantation for 4 years. In the preparation of the patient for the surgical procedure, due to the extremely low ejection fraction, it was decided to include cardioprotective treatment with Levosimendan. The postoperative period was not straightforward but successful. In the monthly and five-month follow-up, a continuous improvement of heart function with normal renal function was noted.

Conclusions

Kidney transplantation in patients with lupus suffering from heart failure requires the involvement of a team of specialists. Patients with extremely low ejection fraction in the perioperative period should undergo careful hemodynamic supervision in the intensive care unit. Cardioprotective and thus nephroprotective Levosimendan therapy together with optimal fluid and hemodynamic therapy in the peri-transplant period may be a bridge for heart remodeling after kidney transplantation.