Prognosis factors in heart-lung transplantation: 30 years experience in a reference center

Abstract

IntroductionHeart-lung transplantation has shown a progressive decrease in the number of procedures. There is a lack of information about this field in Spain. The main goal of this study is to analyze the experience of a national reference hospital. MethodsWe performed a retrospective study of a historical cohort of heart-lung transplanted patients in a single center, during a 30 years period (from 1990 to 2021). The associations between variables were evaluated using the χ2 test or Fisher's exact test. Survival was analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method. Differences were evaluated using the log-rank test and multivariate analysis with the Cox method. ResultsA decrease in the number of procedures performed in the last decade was observed [2000−2009: 19 procedures (44.2%); 2010−2021: 15 procedures (34.8%)]. Early postoperative mortality was 23.3%, falling to 13.3% from 2010. In-hospital mortality was 41%, falling to 33% from 2010.Main factors related to higher mortality: previous thoracic surgery, corticosteroid therapy, extracorporeal circulation (ECLS) greater than 200 min, ischemia time greater than 300 min, and tracheal dehiscence (p < 0.005).Overall survival at one, five, and ten years was 58%, 44.7%, and 36.1%, respectively. Factors associated with lower survival rates: previous thoracic surgery, male donor, extracorporeal circulation greater than 200 min, ischemia time greater than 300 min, tracheal dehiscence and weight difference (p < 0.005). ConclusionsThere has been a progressive decrease in the number of heart-lung transplantations, being more evident in the last decade, but showing an improvement in both mortality and survival.