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BACKGROUND: The therapeutic success in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) leads to a growing number of adults with CHD (adult CHD [ACHD]) who develop end-stage heart failure. We aimed to determine patient characteristics and outcomes of ACHD listed for heart transplantation. METHODS: Using data from all the patients with ACHD in 20 transplant centers in the Eurotransplant region from 1999 to 2015, we analyzed patient characteristics, waiting list, and post-transplantation outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 204 patients with ACHD were listed during the study period. The median age was 38 years, and 62.3% of the patients were listed in high urgency (HU), and 37.7% of the patients were in transplantable (T)-listing status. A total of 23.5% of the patients died or were delisted owing to clinical worsening, and 75% of the patients underwent transplantation. Median waiting time for patients with HU-listing status was 4.18 months and with T-listing status 9.07 months. There was no difference in crude mortality or delisting between patients who were HU status listed and T status listed (p = 0.65). In multivariable regression analysis, markers for respiratory failure (mechanical ventilation, hazard ratio [HR]: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.11-1.81, p = 0.006) and arrhythmias (anti-arrhythmic medication, HR: 1.42, 95% CI: 1.01-2.01, p = 0.044) were associated with a higher risk of death or delisting. In the overall cohort, post-transplantation mortality was 26.8% after 1 year and 33.4% after 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: Listed patients are at high risk of death without differences in the urgency of listing. Respiratory failure requiring invasive ventilation and possibly arrhythmias requiring anti-arrhythmic medication indicate worse outcomes on waiting list. (C) 2020 International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. All rights reserved.

DESCRIPTION : A 17-year-old woman was admitted to the emergency department with a 3-day history of dyspnoea (New York Heart Association Class II) and typical pleuritic pain following a 1-week history of cough and fever. Pneumonia was diagnosed based on a chest X-ray (figure 1A), and amoxicillin–clavulanate treatment was initiated. After 48 hours, the patient developed hypotension and tachycardia. Given hypotension, ongoing fever and rising C reactive protein despite antibiotic treatment, she was referred to the intensive care unit. On admission, an echocardiography was performed. A circumferential pericardial effusion with 14 mm maximum diameter adjacent to the right ventricle was detected, without haemodynamic compromise at the time. Besides, left pleural effusion was evidenced. An ultrasound-guided thoracentesis was conducted. Pleural fluid testing revealed the following findings: white blood cells (WBC) count 11.109/Literwith 90% neutrophils, proteins 38 g/L, pH 7.36, glucose 6.3 mmol/L and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) 492 IU/L. The culture exhibited no organism, and the cytology proved negative in terms of malignant cells.

In this 3-year, open-label, multicenter study, 57 maintenance heart transplant recipients (>1 year after transplant) with renal insufficiency (eGFR 30–60 mL/min/1.73 m2) were randomized to start everolimus with CNI withdrawal (N=29) or continue their current CNI-based immunosuppression (N=28). The primary endpoint, change in measured glomerular filtration rate (mGFR) from baseline to year 3, did not differ significantly between both groups (+7.0 mL/min in the everolimus group versus +1.9 mL/min in the CNI group, p=0.18). In the on-treatment analysis, the difference did reach statistical significance (+9.4 mL/min in the everolimus group versus +1.9 mL/min in the CNI group, p=0.047). The composite safety endpoint of all-cause mortality, major adverse cardiovascular events, or treated acute rejection was not different between groups. Nonfatal adverse events occurred in 96.6% of patients in the everolimus group and 57.1% in the CNI group (p<0.001). Ten patients (34.5%) in the everolimus group discontinued the study drug during follow-up due to adverse events. The poor adherence to the everolimus therapy might have masked a potential benefit of CNI withdrawal on renal function.

OBJECTIVES Cardiac transplantation using hearts from donors after circulatory death (DCD) is critically limited by the unavoidable warm ischaemia and its related unpredictable graft function. Inasmuch as hypothermic machine perfusion (MP) has been shown to improve heart preservation, we hypothesized that MP could enable the use of DCD hearts for transplantation. METHODS We recovered 16 pig hearts following anoxia-induced cardiac arrest and cardioplegia. Grafts were randomly assigned to two different groups of 4-h preservation using either static cold storage (CS) or MP (Modified LifePort© System, Organ Recovery Systems©, Itasca, Il). After preservation, the grafts were reperfused ex vivo using the Langendorff method for 60 min. Energetic charge was quantified at baseline, post-preservation and post-reperfusion by measuring lactate and high-energy phosphate levels. Left ventricular contractility parameters were assessed both in vivo prior to ischaemia and ex vivo during reperfusion. RESULTS Following preservation, the hearts that were preserved using CS exhibited higher lactate levels (57.1 ± 23.7 vs 21.4 ± 12.2 µmol/g; P < 0.001), increased adenosine monophosphate/adenosine triphosphate ratio (0.53 ± 0.25 vs 0.11 ± 0.11; P < 0.001) and lower phosphocreatine/creatine ratio (9.7 ± 5.3 vs 25.2 ± 11; P < 0.001) in comparison with the MP hearts. Coronary flow was similar in both groups during reperfusion (107 ± 9 vs 125 ± 9 ml/100 g/min heart; P = ns). Contractility decreased in the CS group, yet remained well preserved in the MP group. CONCLUSION MP preservation of DCD hearts results in improved preservation of the energy and improved functional recovery of heart grafts compared with CS.

A 58-year-old man with hypercholesterolaemia was admitted for acute coronary syndrome with ST-segment elevation in inferior ECG derivations and ST-segment depression in antero-lateral ECG derivations ( Panel A ) . The patient underwent emergency coronary catheterization. Subtotal occlusion of the third segment of the right coronary artery (RCA) (Supplementary data online, Movie …

BACKGROUND: The true relevance of allosensitization in patients benefiting from left ventricular assist device (LVAD) as bridge to transplant (BTT) is still debated. Available registry data referred to numerous devices precluding LVAD-specific analysis. Therefore, we studied all patients with Novacor LVAD prior to transplantation. METHODS: From 1985 to 2006, 37 Novacor LVADs were implanted as BTT, with 30 patients surviving to transplantation (81%). Post-LVAD sensitization was determined for anti-HLA-class I and class II IgGs. Study endpoints were overall survival and/or graft loss, > or =3A cellular rejection and chronic allograft vasculopathy (CAV). The results from LVAD patients were compared to non-LVAD primary heart transplant recipients (n=318). RESULTS: After LVAD insertion, 5 out of 27 patients available for analysis developed anti-HLA antibodies (18.5%). The mean anti-HLA titer after Novacor LVAD implantation was 14% [SD 31]. Actuarial 5- and 10-year patient/graft survival for LVAD and non-LVAD transplant recipients were 73% and 55%, and 70% and 55%, respectively (p=NS). Overall prevalence of rejection > or =3A was 23.3 % (LVAD group) and 18.9% (non-LVAD group) (p=NS). At follow-up, the respective incidence of CAV was 8% (LVAD group) and 32.4% (non-LVAD group) (p

The authors report a 79-year old man with a history of coronary bypass surgery, presenting with acute heart failure and elevated troponin. Coronarography revealed a giant saphenous vein graft aneurysm, which was compressing the left internal mammary artery bypass graft. This was confirmed by a multislice enhanced-ECG gated cardiac CT, showing the venous aneurysm responsible for external compression of the arterial graft and its functional occlusion. Myocardial ischaemia, the mechanism leading to cardiac failure, was confirmed by hypoperfusion of the sub-endocardial area shown by the CT. The aneurysm was surgically removed without complications. The patient recovered and his cardiac function improved. This is the first recorded case of compression of the left internal mammary artery by an giant saphenous vein graft aneurysm having triggered severe myocardial ischaemia and heart failure. The authors review the incidence and complications of giant venous bypass graft aneurysms reported in the literature.