HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): James F. McCarthy Patrick M. McCarthy Malek G. Massad Nicholas G. Smedira Vigneshwar Kasirajan James B. Young Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by McCarthy, J. F. Articles by Young, J. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by McCarthy, J. F. Articles by Young, J. B.

Ann Thorac Surg 1998;65:1574-1578
© 1998 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

---

Original articles: cardiovascular

Risk Factors for Death After Heart Transplantation: Does a Single-Center Experience Correlate With Multicenter Registries?

^a Cardiac Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Assist Program, Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
^b The Transplant Center Histocompatibility Laboratory, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
^c Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant Medicine, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Accepted for publication December 2, 1997.

Address reprint requests to Dr McCarthy, Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Desk F25, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44195
e-mail: (mccartp{at}cesmtp.ccf.org)

Background. Risk factors for death after heart transplantation (Tx) are frequently documented from multicenter registries. Although this information is helpful, it reflects a whole range of experiences and results, and may not translate to a particular center. This study was performed to (1) evaluate pre-Tx factors affecting mortality in a single-center experience, and (2) compare these factors with risk factors obtained from multicenter registry reports.

Methods. Review of our transplant database between January 1984 and December 1995 identified 405 adults who received a primary heart Tx. Multiple factors were analyzed, including demographics, Tx era, cytomegalovirus status, United Network for Organ Sharing status of recipient, presence of pulmonary hypertension, previous cardiac operations, mechanical ventilation or circulatory support, ischemia time, number of rejection episodes, and preoperative flow cytometry crossmatching.

Results. One- and 5-year survival rates were 87.8% and 73.4%, respectively (Kaplan-Meier). Contrary to multicenter registry reports, our data indicate that reoperative procedures, left ventricular assist device support, increasing donor and recipient age, and ischemia time up to 4.2 hours are not risk factors for death after Tx. Likewise, mode of donor death is not a risk factor affecting outcome. Significant risk factors for mortality identified by multivariate analysis included early transplant era (1984 to 1989; p = 0.002), female donor (p = 0.042), cytomegalovirus-seropositive donor (p = 0.048), high pulmonary vascular resistance (p = 0.018), and intraaortic balloon pump support (p = 0.03). It also identified a positive B-cell flow cytometry crossmatch (p = 0.015) to be a risk factor with univariate analysis.

Conclusions. Our data identify a group of recipients, reportedly at high risk in multicenter registries, who are not at increased risk of death after Tx. This information supports the growing experience with older donors and recipients and with bridged transplants, and has allowed us to expand our donor pool. These prognostic factors at evaluation allow more liberal selection of patients and donors for transplantation.