Heart re-transplantation in Eurotransplant

Internationally 3% of the donor hearts are distributed to re-transplant patients. In Eurotransplant, only patients with a primary graft dysfunction (PGD) within 1 week after heart transplantation (HTX) are indicated for high urgency listing. The aim of this study is to provide evidence for the discussion on whether these patients should still be allocated with priority. All consecutive HTX performed in the period 1981-2015 were included. Multivariate Cox' model was built including: donor and recipient age and gender, ischaemia time, recipient diagnose, urgency status and era. The study population included 18 490 HTX, of these 463 (2.6%) were repeat transplants. The major indications for re-HTX were cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) (50%), PGD (26%) and acute rejection (21%). In a multivariate model, compared with first HTX hazards ratio and 95% confidence interval for repeat HTX were 2.27 (1.83-2.82) for PGD, 2.24 (1.76-2.85) for acute rejection and 1.22 (1.00-1.48) for CAV (P < 0.0001). Outcome after cardiac re-HTX strongly depends on the indication for re-HTX with acceptable outcomes for CAV. In contrast, just 47.5% of all hearts transplanted in patients who were re-transplanted for PGD still functioned at 1-month post-transplant. Alternative options like VA-ECMO should be first offered before opting for acute re-transplantation

Depressive symptoms at 1 year after surgery increase the risk of cardiac allograft vasculopathy and mortality in heart transplant recipients: A prospective cohort study

To investigate the impact of depressive symptoms at 1-year post-heart transplant (HTx) on cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) and mortality.; We performed a single-center prospective cohort study of patients 1-year post-HTx consecutively enrolled between January 2001 and September 2015, and followed-up until November 2020. Kaplan-Meier and uni- and multivariate cox proportional hazards models were used to investigate the impact of depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory) on all-cause mortality and clustered CAV events, i.e. time to angiographically detected CAV, revascularizations, retransplantation/CAV-mortality.; 23.7% (45/190) (median age 53.5 [IQR 19.3], 77% men) had mild to severe depressive symptoms (BDI 10-63). Forty-four patients (23.2%) died during a 10.4 years median follow-up. Depressive symptoms (BDI ≥ 10) increased all-cause mortality risk (HR = 2.52 [1.35-4.71], p = .004), even after adjusting for confounders (HR = 2.95 [1.50-5.80], p = .002). CAV data were available for 156 patients. During a 9.9 years median follow-up, 51 patients (32.7%) developed CAV or revascularization of which 8 received at least a second revascularization, 3 were re-transplanted, and 9 died from CAV-related causes. Analysis showed a significant increased CAV-risk among depressed patients (HR = 2.27 [1.10-4.69], p = .026), even in adjusted models (HR = 2.25 [1.01-4.98, p = .047).; Depressive symptoms at 1-year post-HTx unfavorably impact mortality and CAV, highlighting the need for interventions

Validation of the 2014 ESC Guidelines Risk Prediction Model for the Primary Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

-The recently released 2014 ESC guidelines of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) use a new clinical risk prediction model for sudden cardiac death, based on the HCM Risk-SCD study. Our study is the first external and independent validation of this new risk prediction model.status: publishe

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: patient outcomes, rate of appropriate and inappropriate interventions, and complications

Background: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the most devastating complication of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), but this can be prevented by an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). The aim of this study is to evaluate HCM patients with ICDs for primary or secondary prevention of SCD. Methods: The study population consisted of all HCM patients with an ICD in 2 tertiary referral clinics. End points during follow-up were total and cardiac mortality, appropriate and inappropriate ICD intervention, and device-related complications. Cox-regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of outcome. Results: ICDs were implanted in 134 patients with HCM (mean age 44 +/- 17 years, 34% women, 4.2 +/- 4.8 years follow-up). Annualized cardiac mortality rate was 3.4% per year and associated with New York Heart Association class III or IV (HR 5.2 [2.0-14, P = .002]) and cardiac resynchronization therapy (HR 6.3 [2.1-20, P = .02]). Appropriate ICD interventions occurred in 38 patients (6.8%/year) and was associated with implantation for secondary prevention of SCD (HR 4.0 [1.89.1], P = .001) and male gender (HR 3.3 [1.2-9.0], P = .02). Inappropriate ICD intervention occurred in 21 patients ( 3.7%/year) and in 20 patients device related complications were documented (3.6%/year). Conclusion: ICDs successfully abort life-threatening arrhythmias in HCM patients at increased risk of SCD with an annualized intervention rate of 6.8% per year. End-stage heart failure is the main cause of mortality in these patients. The annualized rate of inappropriate ICD intervention was 3.7% per year, whereas device-related complications occurred 3.6% per year

Long-term outcomes after medical and invasive treatment in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

The aim of this study was to determine the long-term outcomes (all-cause mortality and sudden cardiac death [SCD]) after medical therapy, alcohol septal ablation (ASA), and myectomy in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Long-Term Outcomes After Medical and Invasive Treatment in Patients With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy journaltitle: JACC: Heart Failure articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jchf.2014.06.012 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2014 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.status: publishe

The effect of universal infant vaccination on the prevalence of hepatitis B immunity in adult solid organ transplant candidates

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) immunity is recommended to optimize outcomes after solid organ transplantation (SOT). This study assessed the prevalence and predictors of HBV immunity at the time patients were placed on transplant waiting list over a period from 1997 to 2019 in a low HBV endemic region. METHODS: Data were obtained from the University Hospitals Leuven transplant database. Minors and patients with past/current HBV infection were excluded. From 1986, Belgian patients are covered by the universal infant vaccination; therefore, birth cohort was stratified in those born ≥1986 vs <1986. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 3297 SOT candidates. HBV immunity rate was superior in renal transplant candidates (55.3%), and this number was 21.5%, 15.4% and 16.8% for liver, cardiac and pulmonary transplant candidates, respectively, P < .001. Among liver transplant candidates, HBV immunity rate was 14.8% in decompensated cirrhotic patients and 27.9% in those without advanced cirrhosis (P < .001). The overall immunity rate increased from 19.3% in period 1997-2008 to 32.8% in 2009-2019, P < .001. In multivariable analyses, younger age (odds ratio (OR) 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.97-0.98, P < .001) and birth cohort ≥ 1986 (OR 95% CI: 1.18-2.66, P = .006) were associated with increased HBV immunity. CONCLUSION: An increase in HBV immunity was observed over a 20-year period related to the introduction of universal infant HBV vaccination. Nevertheless, this study highlights the low overall HBV immunity at the time of listing for organ transplantation and points out the need of an increased awareness and vaccination strategy at an early disease stage.status: publishe

The effect of universal infant vaccination on the prevalence of hepatitis B immunity in adult solid organ transplant candidates

Background Hepatitis B virus (HBV) immunity is recommended to optimize outcomes after solid organ transplantation (SOT). This study assessed the prevalence and predictors of HBV immunity at the time patients were placed on transplant waiting list over a period from 1997 to 2019 in a low HBV endemic region. Methods Data were obtained from the University Hospitals Leuven transplant database. Minors and patients with past/current HBV infection were excluded. From 1986, Belgian patients are covered by the universal infant vaccination; therefore, birth cohort was stratified in those born >= 1986 vs The study population consisted of 3297 SOT candidates. HBV immunity rate was superior in renal transplant candidates (55.3%), and this number was 21.5%, 15.4% and 16.8% for liver, cardiac and pulmonary transplant candidates, respectively,P = 1986 (OR 95% CI: 1.18-2.66,P = .006) were associated with increased HBV immunity. Conclusion An increase in HBV immunity was observed over a 20-year period related to the introduction of universal infant HBV vaccination. Nevertheless, this study highlights the low overall HBV immunity at the time of listing for organ transplantation and points out the need of an increased awareness and vaccination strategy at an early disease stage

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Patient outcomes, rate of appropriate and inappropriate interventions, and complications

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the most devastating complication of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), but this can be prevented by an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). The aim of this study is to evaluate HCM patients with ICDs for primary or secondary prevention of SCD.status: publishe