Anesthetic considerations in the patient with a heart transplant

[Anesthesia for organ transplant patients]

Organ transplant patients who must undergo nontransplant surgical interventions can be challenging for the anesthesiologists in charge. On the one hand, it is important to carefully monitor the graft function in the perioperative period with respect to the occurrence of a possible rejection reaction. On the other hand, the ongoing immunosuppression may have to be adapted to the perioperative requirements in terms of the active substance and the route of administration, the resulting increased risk of infection and possible side effects (e.g., myelosuppression, nephrotoxicity and impairment of wound healing) must be included in the perioperative treatment concept. Furthermore, possible persistent comorbidities of the underlying disease and physiological peculiarities as a result of the organ transplantation must be taken into account. Support can be obtained from the expertise of the respective transplantation center.

Perioperative care of heart transplant recipients undergoing non-cardiac surgery

The life expectancy of patients with end-stage heart disease undergoing Orthotopic Heart Transplantation (OHT) has increased significantly in the recent decades since its original introduction into the medical practice in 1967. Substantial advances in post-operative intensive care, surgical prophylaxis, and anti-rejection drugs have clearly impacted survivability after OHT, therefore the volume of patients presenting for non-cardiac surgical procedures is expected to continue to escalate in the upcoming years. There are a number of caveats associated with this upsurge of post-OHT patients requiring non-cardiac surgery, including presenting to healthcare facilities without the resources and technology necessary to manage potential perioperative complications or that may not be familiar with the care of these patients, facilities in which a cardiac anesthesiologist is not available, patients presenting for emergency procedures and so forth. The perioperative care of patients after OHT introduces several challenges to the anesthesiologist including preoperative risk assessments different to the general population and intraoperative management of a denervated organ with altered response to medications and drug-drug interactions. The present review aims to synopsize current data of patients presenting for non-cardiac surgery after OHT, surgical aspects of the transplant that may impact perioperative care, physiology of the transplanted heart as well as anesthetic considerations.

Anesthetic Considerations for the Parturient After Solid Organ Transplantation

Over the past 40 years, the success of organ transplantation has increased such that female solid organ transplant recipients are able to conceive and carry pregnancies successfully to term. Anesthesiologists are faced with the challenge of providing anesthesia care to these high-risk obstetric patients in the peripartum period. Anesthetic considerations include the effects of the physiologic changes of pregnancy on the transplanted organ, graft function in the peripartum period, and the maternal side effects and drug interactions of immunosuppressive agents. These women are at an increased risk of comorbidities and obstetric complications. Anesthetic management should consider the important task of protecting graft function. Optimal care of a woman with a transplanted solid organ involves management by a multidisciplinary team. In this focused review article, we review the anesthetic management of pregnant patients with solid organ transplants of the kidney, liver, heart, or lung.

Pediatric heart transplantation: demographics, outcomes, and anesthetic implications

The evolving demographics, outcomes, and anesthetic management of pediatric heart transplant recipients are reviewed. As survival continues to improve, an increasing number of these patients will present to our operating rooms and sedation suites. It is therefore important that all anesthesiologists, not only those specialized in cardiac anesthesia, have a basic understanding of the physiologic changes in the transplanted heart and the anesthetic implications thereof.