Non-invasive screening by tissue doppler for late post-transplant cardiac rejection surveillance

Abstract

Routine endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs) continue to detect acute cardiac rejection (AR) beyond the first post-transplant year, but their need for late AR surveillance is controversial. However, late ARs are linked to both graft failure and allograft coronary disease (ACD). To provide appropriate AR surveillance during late post-transplant periods, we assessed the value of tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) screening for both AR diagnosis and effective use of EMBs.