Abstract
Introduction: Although guidelines for heart transplant currently recommend against donors weighing ≥ 30% less than the recipient, recent studies have shown that the detriment of under-sizing may not be as severe in obese recipients. Furthermore, predicted heart mass (PHM) has been shown to be more reliable for size matching compared to metrics such as weight and body surface area. In this study, we use PHM to characterize the effects of undersized heart transplantation (UHT) in obese vs. non-obese recipients. Methods: Retrospective analysis of the UNOS database was performed for heart transplants from Jan. 1995 to Sep. 2020. Recipients were stratified by obese (BMI ≥ 30) and non-obese (30 > BMI ≥ 18.5). Undersized donors were defined as PHM ≥ 20% less than recipient PHM. Obese and non-obese populations separately underwent propensity score matching, and Kaplan-Meier estimates were used to graph survival. Multivariable Cox proportional-hazards analyses were used to adjust for confounders and estimate the hazard ratio for death attributable to under-sizing. Results: Overall, 50,722 heart transplants were included in the analysis. Propensity-score matching resulted in 2,214, and 1,011 well-matched pairs, respectively, for non-obese and obese populations. UHT in non-obese recipients resulted in similar 30-day mortality (5.7% vs. 6.3%, p = 0.38), but worse 15-year survival (38% vs. 35%, P = 0.04). In contrast, obese recipients with UHT saw similar 30-day mortality (6.4% vs. 5.5%, p = 0.45) and slightly increased 15-year survival (31% vs. 35%, P = 0.04). Multivariate Cox analysis showed that UHT resulted in an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.08 (95% CI 1.01 - 1.16) in non-obese recipients, and 0.87 (95% CI 0.78 - 0.98) in obese recipients. Conclusions: Non-obese patients with UHT saw worse long-term survival, while obese patients with UHT saw slightly increased survival. These findings may warrant reevaluation of the current size criteria for obese patients awaiting a heart.
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