Abstract
BackgroundThe endomyocardial biopsy has proven to be an integral diagnostic tool for surveillance of cardiac allograft rejection and identification of myocardial diseases. Nevertheless, this invasive procedure is not risk-free. This study focuses on the risk of complications and diagnostic performance of right ventricular endomyocardial biopsy (EMB).MethodsIn this single-center retrospective study, we analyzed 315 EMB procedures performed between July 2008 and May 2015 in 73 patients. All EMBs were made via the right femoral vein approach under fluoroscopic control to evaluate suspected myocarditis, unclear heart failure, unexplained cardiomyopathy, assumed infiltrative and storage disease or as a part of routine allograft rejection monitoring and clinically suspected rejection diagnosis after heart transplantation (HTx). Obtained specimens were diagnosed histopathologically by one experienced pathologist. All patients underwent a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), ECG monitoring, transthoracic echocardiography before and after EMB to obtain a detailed assessment of the incidence of heart rhythm disorders, pericardial effusions or worsening valve insufficiency. Complications resulting from the procedure were classified as major or minor according to the risk of death.ResultsAmong all the 315 biopsies, 86.67% were performed in 32 patients after HTx, 3.81% in patients with myocarditis, 2.54% in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and 1.9% in patients with amyloidosis. The overall complications rate was 1.9% (6 of 315 procedures). Major complications included perforation with pericardial tamponade requiring surgical intervention (0.64%, 2 of 315 procedures). Minor complications included: pericardial effusion (0.32%, 1 of 315 procedures), local hematoma (0.64%, 2 of 315 procedures) and right coronary artery-right ventricle fistula in HTx recipient (0.32%, 1 of 315 procedures).ConclusionsEMB is a safe procedure with low risk of serious complications and high effectiveness for the evaluation of unexplained left ventricle dysfunction and monitoring allograft rejection after HTx.
Highlights
The endomyocardial biopsy has proven to be an integral diagnostic tool for surveillance of cardiac allograft rejection and identification of myocardial diseases
Biopsies were performed according to current guidelines as a tool for the diagnostic evaluation of suspected myocarditis, unclear heart failure, unexplained cardiomyopathy, assumed infiltrative and storage disease or as a part of routine allograft rejection monitoring and clinically suspected rejection diagnosis in heart transplant recipients [2]
Among all the 315 biopsies, 86.67% were endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) procedures performed in patients after Heart transplantation (HTx)
Summary
The endomyocardial biopsy has proven to be an integral diagnostic tool for surveillance of cardiac allograft rejection and identification of myocardial diseases. This study focuses on the risk of complications and diagnostic performance of right ventricular endomyocardial biopsy (EMB). The endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) constitutes an established tool for surveillance of cardiac allograft rejection and identification of myocardial diseases [1]. The utility and accuracy of EMB is increasingly growing due to application of new Sławek et al BMC Cardiovascular Disorders (2016) 16:222 the incidence of critical complications is a major concern in performing EMB. We assessed safety of EMB through the description and quantification of the procedure related complications
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