Cardiac transplantation in adult congenital heart disease with prior sternotomy

Adult Congenital Heart Disease Transplantation: Does Univentricle Physiology Impact Early Mortality?

BACKGROUND

With patients with congenital heart disease increasingly living into adulthood, there is a growing population of patients with adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) who have heart failure. Limited data exist on evaluating heart transplantation in this population.

METHODS

A retrospective review was performed of patients with ACHD who underwent heart transplantation from November 1990 to January 2023. Kaplan-Meier, cumulative incidence accounting for competing risk of death, and subgroup analyses comparing those patients with biventricular (BiV) and univentricular (UniV) physiology were performed. Data are presented as median (interquartile range [IQR]) or counts (%).

RESULTS

A total of 77 patients with a median age of 36 years (IQR, 27-45 years) were identified, including 57 (74%) BiV and 20 (26%) UniV patients. Preoperatively, UniV patients were more likely to have cirrhosis (9 of 20 [45.0%] vs 4 of 57 [7.0%]; P < .001) and protein losing enteropathy (4 of 20 [20.0%] vs 1 of 57 [1.8%]; P = .015). Multiorgan transplantation was performed in 23 patients (30%) and more frequently in UniV patients (10 [50%] vs 13 [23%]; P = .04). Operative mortality was 6.5%, 2 of 20 (10%) among UniV patients and 2 of 57 (4%) among BiV patients (P = .276). Median clinical follow-up was 6.0 years (IQR, 1.4-13.1 years). Survival tended to be lower among UniV patients compared with BiV patients, particularly within the first year (P = .09), but it was similar for survivors beyond 1 year. At 5 years, the incidence of rejection was 28% (IQR, 17%-38%) and that of coronary allograft vasculopathy was 16% (IQR, 7%-24%).

CONCLUSIONS

Underlying liver disease and the need for heart-liver transplantation were significantly higher among UniV patients. Survival tended to be lower among UniV patients, particularly within the first year, but it was similar for survivors beyond 1 year.

Heart Transplantation for Adults With Congenital Heart Disease Can Be Performed at Adult or Pediatric Hospitals With Comparable Outcomes

INTRODUCTION

The goal of this study was to evaluate the relationship between hospital-related factors and hospital type on outcomes of heart transplantation for patients with adult congenital heart disease (ACHD).

METHODS

Patients with ACHD who underwent heart transplant between 2010 and 2021 were identified using the United Network for Organ Sharing data registry. The primary outcome was post-transplant mortality. Kaplan-Meier unadjusted survival curves were compared using the log-rank test. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used for risk-adjustment in evaluating the independent effect of hospital type on post-transplant mortality.

RESULTS

Of 70 centers, 54 (77.1%) adult centers performed 415 (87.0%) heart transplants and 16 (22.9%) pediatric centers performed 62 (13.0%) heart transplants. Patients transplanted at pediatric centers were younger, had lower creatinine levels, and had lower body mass index. The unadjusted 1-y and 5-y survival was comparable in pediatric versus adult centers, respectively: 93.4% versus 86.6% (log-rank P = 0.16) and 87.4% versus 73.9% (log-rank P = 0.06). These findings persisted after risk-adjustment. One-year mortality hazard ratio for pediatric hospitals: 0.64 (0.22-1.89, P = 0.416) and 5-y mortality hazard ratio for pediatric hospitals: 0.53 (0.21-1.33, P = 0.175). Rates of acute rejection, postoperative stroke, and new-onset postoperative dialysis were also comparable.

CONCLUSIONS

Heart transplantation for patients with ACHD can be performed safely in adult centers. The majority of heart transplant for ACHD in the United States are performed at adult hospitals. However, further research is needed to delineate the impact of individual surgeon characteristics and hospital-related factors on outcomes.

Survival After Cardiac Transplantation in Adults With Single-Ventricle Congenital Heart Disease

BACKGROUND

Without large-scale analyses of adults with single-ventricle congenital heart disease (CHD) undergoing heart transplantation, little evidence exists to guide listing practices and patient counseling.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to evaluate survival after heart transplantation in adults with single and biventricular CHD and compare it to that of non-CHD transplant recipients.

METHODS

In this 15-year (2005-2020) retrospective analysis, outcome-blinded investigators used probability-linkage to merge the National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample and Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network data sets.

RESULTS

Of 382 adult (≥18 years of age) heart transplant recipients with CHD, 185 (48%) had single-ventricle physiology. Compared to biventricular CHD, single-ventricle patients showed significantly reduced survival at 1 (80% vs 91%; HR: 2.50; 95% CI: 1.40-4.49; P = 0.002) and 10 years (54% vs 71%; HR: 2.10; 95% CI: 1.38-3.18; P < 0.001). Among patients who survived the first post-transplantation year, biventricular CHD patients exhibited similar 10-year survival as single-ventricle patients, except for those with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (79% vs 71%; HR: 1.58; 95% CI: 0.85-2.92; P = 0.15). Additionally, biventricular CHD transplant recipients showed significantly better 10-year conditional survival compared to their non-CHD counterparts (79% vs 68%; HR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.59-0.90; P = 0.003).

CONCLUSIONS

Among adult CHD transplant recipients, single-ventricle physiology correlated with higher short-term mortality. However, 10-year conditional survival was similar for biventricular and most single-ventricle CHD patients, and notably better for biventricular CHD patients compared to non-CHD heart transplant recipients. These findings have significant implications towards patient selection and listing strategies, easing concerns related to heart transplantation in adults with CHD and destigmatizing most subtypes of single-ventricle CHD.

Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism after heart transplantation

INTRODUCTION

Venous thromboembolism (VTE), such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), is an important and serious postoperative complication after heart transplantation. We sought to characterize in-hospital VTE after heart transplantation and its association with clinical outcomes.

METHOD

Adult (≧18 years) patients undergoing heart transplantation from 2015 to 2019 at our center were retrospectively reviewed. Post-transplant VTE was defined as newly diagnosed venous system thrombus by imaging studies.

RESULTS

There were 254 patients. The cohort's median age was 55 years. A total of 61 patients were diagnosed with VTE, including 1 with right atrial thrombus, 54 with upper extremity DVT in which one patient subsequently developed PE, 4 with lower extremity DVT, and 2 with upper and lower extremity DVT. The cumulative incidence of VTE was 42% at 60-days of post heart transplant. Patients with VTE had longer hospital stay (p<0.001), higher in-hospital mortality (p = 0.010), and worse 5-year survival (p = 0.009). On the multivariable Cox analysis, history of DVT/PE and intubation for more than 3 days were associated with an increased risk of in hospital VTE.

CONCLUSION

The incidence of VTE in heart transplant recipients is high. Post-transplant surveillance, and appropriate preventive measures and treatment strategies after diagnosis are warranted. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Changes in waitlist and posttransplant outcomes in patients with adult congenital heart disease after the new heart transplant allocation system

OBJECTIVE

In 2018, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) introduced new criteria for heart allocation. This study sought to assess the impact of this change on waitlist and posttransplant outcomes in adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) recipients.

METHODS

Between January 2010 and March 2020, we extracted first heart transplant ACHD patients listed from the UNOS database. We compared waitlist and post-transplant outcomes before and after the policy change.

RESULTS

A total of 1206 patients were listed, 951 under the old policy and 255 under the new policy. Prior to transplant, recipients under the new policy era were more likely to be treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (P = .018), and have intra-aortic balloon pumps (P < .001), and less likely to have left ventricular assist devices (P = .027).Compared to patients waitlisted in the pre-policy change era, those waitlisted in the post policy change era were more likely to receive transplants (P = .001) with no significant difference in waiting list mortality (P = .267) or delisting (P = .915). There was no difference in 1-year survival post-transplant between the groups (P = .791).

CONCLUSION

The new policy altered the heart transplant cohort in the ACHD group, allowing them to receive transplants earlier with no changes in early outcomes after heart transplantation.