Cardiothoracic Transplant Research Articles

The Year in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia: Selected Highlights from 2024

This special article is the seventeeth in an annual series for the Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia. The authors thank the editor-in-chief, Dr. Kaplan, and the editorial board for the opportunity to continue this series, namely the research highlights of the past year in the specialty of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesiology.1 The major themes selected for 2024 are outlined in this introduction, and each highlight is reviewed in detail in the main article. The literature highlights in the specialty for 2024 begin with an update on perioperative rehabilitation and enhanced recovery (ERACS) in in cardiothoracic surgery, with a focus on novel methods to best assess our patients in the preoperative period and the impact of implementing enhanced recovery care models on outcomes. The second major theme is focused on cardiac surgery, with the authors discussing new insights into anemia, transfusions, and CABG outcomes with a focus on gender disparities. The third theme is focused on cardiothoracic transplantation, with discussions focusing on techniques related to lung transplantation including MCS. The fourth theme is focused on mechanical circulatory support, with discussions exploring advancements in left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) highlight the evolving landscape of mechanical circulatory support and discussion of anticoagulation practices. The fifth, and final theme is an update on medical cardiology, with focus on outcomes of transcatheter management of regurgitant pathology, device management in heart failure, and new techniques in catheter ablation. The themes selected for this article are only a few of the diverse advances in the specialty during 2024. These highlights will inform the reader of key updates on a variety of topics, leading to improvement of perioperative outcomes for patients with cardiothoracic and vascular disease.

Intraoperative cytokine adsorption in cardiothoracic transplant patients: An Australian propensity-score matched pilot study.

It is unclear if immunomodulation via cytokine adsorption (CA) to reduce perioperative inflammatory cascade in cardiothoracic transplants is associated with better outcomes. This pilot study aims to assess the clinical outcomes of intraoperative CA in heart/lung transplantation. From July to October 2020, intraoperative CA was instituted in 11 patients who underwent heart/lung transplantation. One-to-one propensity score matching without replacement was conducted with historical patients who did not receive CA at the time of surgery. Primary end-points evaluated were vasopressor/ inotropic demands, blood loss and mortality. Secondary end-points measured were operative morbidities. After matching, there were 2 (18.2%) ventricular assist device explant with heart transplantation, 2 (18.2%) heart transplantation and 7 (63.6%) lung transplantation in each group. Mean age in both groups were 53.3 years and 54.9 years respectively. The duration of noradrenaline requirement in the CA group was shorter (median, 1627 versus 3144 min, P = 0.5) and postoperative dopamine demand was significantly higher (median peak dose, 5.0 versus 0 μg/kg/min, P = 1.0; median duration of use, 7729 versus 0 min, P = 0.01). Non-red blood cell transfusion rate was two times higher in CA patients (90.9% versus 45.4%, P = 0.06). Early mortality was higher in the control group (18.2% versus 9.1%, P = 1.0). No differences were observed in the incidences of operative morbidities. Intraoperative CA in heart and lung transplantation in our institution was not associated with significant improvement in clinical outcomes, including vasopressor/inotropic demand. Larger studies are required to evaluate the transfusion requirements and mortality risks with CA use in this patient population.

Popliteal artery injury in and about knee injury: An experience in Manmohan Cardiothoracic vascular and transplant center

Popliteal artery injury in and about knee injury: An experience in Manmohan Cardiothoracic vascular and transplant center

Prevention and rehabilitation after heart transplantation: A clinical consensus statement of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology, Heart Failure Association of the ESC, and the European Cardio Thoracic Transplant Association, a section of ESOT.

Little is known either about either physical activity patterns, or other lifestyle-related prevention measures in heart transplantation (HTx) recipients. The history of HTx started more than 50 years ago but there are still no guidelines or position papers highlighting the features of prevention and rehabilitation after HTx. The aims of this scientific statement are (i) to explain the importance of prevention and rehabilitation after HTx, and (ii) to promote the factors (modifiable/non-modifiable) that should be addressed after HTx to improve patients' physical capacity, quality of life and survival. All HTx team members have their role to play in the care of these patients and multidisciplinary prevention and rehabilitation programmes designed for transplant recipients. HTx recipients are clearly not healthy disease-free subjects yet they also significantly differ from heart failure patients or those who are supported with mechanical circulatory support. Therefore, prevention and rehabilitation after HTx both need to be specifically tailored to this patient population and be multidisciplinary in nature. Prevention and rehabilitation programmes should be initiated early after HTx and continued during the entire post-transplant journey. This clinical consensus statement focuses on the importance and the characteristics of prevention and rehabilitation designed for HTx recipients.

Prevention and Rehabilitation After Heart Transplantation: A Clinical Consensus Statement of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology, Heart Failure Association of the ESC, and the European Cardio Thoracic Transplant Association, a Section of ESOT.

Little is known either about either physical activity patterns, or other lifestyle-related prevention measures in heart transplantation (HTx) recipients. The history of HTx started more than 50 years ago but there are still no guidelines or position papers highlighting the features of prevention and rehabilitation after HTx. The aims of this scientific statement are (i) to explain the importance of prevention and rehabilitation after HTx, and (ii) to promote the factors (modifiable/non-modifiable) that should be addressed after HTx to improve patients' physical capacity, quality of life and survival. All HTx team members have their role to play in the care of these patients and multidisciplinary prevention and rehabilitation programmes designed for transplant recipients. HTx recipients are clearly not healthy disease-free subjects yet they also significantly differ from heart failure patients or those who are supported with mechanical circulatory support. Therefore, prevention and rehabilitation after HTx both need to be specifically tailored to this patient population and be multidisciplinary in nature. Prevention and rehabilitation programmes should be initiated early after HTx and continued during the entire post-transplant journey. This clinical consensus statement focuses on the importance and the characteristics of prevention and rehabilitation designed for HTx recipients.

Prevention and rehabilitation after heart transplantation: A clinical consensus statement of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology, Heart Failure Association of the ESC, and the European Cardio Thoracic Transplant Association, a section of ESOT.

Little is known either about either physical activity patterns, or other lifestyle-related prevention measures in heart transplantation (HTx) recipients. The history of HTx started more than 50 years ago but there are still no guidelines or position papers highlighting the features of prevention and rehabilitation after HTx. The aims of this scientific statement are (i) to explain the importance of prevention and rehabilitation after HTx, and (ii) to promote the factors (modifiable/non-modifiable) that should be addressed after HTx to improve patients' physical capacity, quality of life and survival. All HTx team members have their role to play in the care of these patients and multidisciplinary prevention and rehabilitation programmes designed for transplant recipients. HTx recipients are clearly not healthy disease-free subjects yet they also significantly differ from heart failure patients or those who are supported with mechanical circulatory support. Therefore, prevention and rehabilitation after HTx both need to be specifically tailored to this patient population and be multidisciplinary in nature. Prevention and rehabilitation programmes should be initiated early after HTx and continued during the entire post-transplant journey. This clinical consensus.

European Society for Organ Transplantation (ESOT) Consensus Statement on the Use of Non-invasive Biomarkers for Cardiothoracic Transplant Rejection Surveillance.

While allograft rejection (AR) continues to threaten the success of cardiothoracic transplantation, lack of accurate and repeatable surveillance tools to diagnose AR is a major unmet need in the clinical management of cardiothoracic transplant recipients. Endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) and transbronchial biopsy (TBBx) have been the cornerstone of rejection monitoring since the field's incipience, but both suffer from significant limitations, including poor concordance of biopsy interpretation among pathologists. In recent years, novel molecular tools for AR monitoring have emerged and their performance characteristics have been evaluated in multiple studies. An international working group convened by ESOT has reviewed the existing literature and provides a series of recommendations to guide the use of these biomarkers in clinical practice. While acknowledging some caveats, the group recognized that Gene-expression profiling and donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) may be used to rule out rejection in heart transplant recipients, but they are not recommended for cardiac allograft vasculopathy screening. Other traditional biomarkers (NT-proBNP, BNP or troponin) do not have sufficient evidence to support their use to diagnose AR. Regarding lung transplant, dd-cfDNA could be used to rule out clinical rejection and infection, but its use to monitor treatment response is not recommended.

Femoral artery Pseudo-aneurysm: Presentation, Causation and Outcome in Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Centre of a Tertiary Level Hospital in Nepal

Background: Peripheral arterial pseudo-aneurysms are of varied etiology and are quite common presenting from simple swelling to life threatening hemorrhage and sepsis. Our study aimed at evaluating our Institute’s experience with femoral artery pseudo-aneurysm over a span of 2 years with particular focus on the various range of presentations, causative factors and management outcomes. Methods: Retrospective analysis of medical records of patients with diagnosis of femoral arterial pseudo-aneurysm who underwent surgery was done. Data was collected retrospectively from Anesthesia and vascular surgery records as well as administrative records. Results: Over the duration of 2 years we found a total of 135 cases of femoral artery pseudo-aneurysm treated in our center. Intravenous drug abuse (112) followed by catheter induced (11) was the commonest etiology. Demographics showed a propensity towards the youth with most cases in the 20-30 age group (78, 58%) followed by 30-40 (35, 25%). A painful swelling with tenderness (91) was the commonest presentation. All patients underwent surgical treatment with 62 (45 %) patients undergoing ligation and the same numbers undergoing pseudo-aneurysm repair, 62 (45%). 78 (58%) patients had an uneventful recovery. However 18 cases had to undergo limb amputation and 7 patients lost their lives due to various complications. Conclusion: Our study found that femoral artery pseudo-aneurysms present with various etiology and presentation, poses a huge challenge to the clinicians for surgery and management of its complications.

Outcome of Patients Presenting with Peripartum Cardiomyopathy in a Tertiary Care Center of Nepal

Purpose: Peripartum cardiomyopathy is a rare life-threatening cardiomyopathy of unknown etiology with significant maternal morbidity and mortality. It causes heart failure due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction with or without left ventricular dilatation in the last month of pregnancy up to 5 months postpartum in previously healthy women. We aimed to determine short-term outcomes of peripartum cardiomyopathy clinically as well as in terms of left ventricular systolic function and to study the clinical profile and associated risk factors. Patients and methods: A prospective observational study was carried out in the Department of Cardiology of Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Center, Institute of Medicine, Kathmandu, Nepal, from July 2018 to January 2022. All the patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy who presented to the department of cardiology were enrolled in the study and re-evaluated with echocardiography at 6 months. Results: A total of 68 women met the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 28.38 ± 5.5 years (range 19 to 44 years). The most common clinical presentation was dyspnea followed by lower limb edema. Six (8.8%) patients presented during the last month of pregnancy whereas 62 (91.2%) patients presented in the postpartum period. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction on presentation was 30.01 ± 8.54. A full recovery was observed among 60.29% at 6 months. The mortality rate was 4.41%. Conclusion: Timely diagnosis and management of peripartum cardiomyopathy with standard therapy for heart failure leads to better recovery of left ventricular systolic function.

Noteworthy in Cardiothoracic Surgery 2023.

Noteworthy in Cardiothoracic Surgery 2023 summarizes a few of the most high-impact trials and provocative trends in cardiothoracic surgery and transplantation this past year. Transplantation using organs procured from donation after circulatory death (DCD) continues to increase, and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons released recommendations on best practices in 2023. We review a summary of data on the impact of DCD on heart and lung transplantation. There has been increased interest in extracorporeal life support (ECLS), particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, and we review the results of the highly discussed ECLS-SHOCK trial, which randomized patients in cardiogenic shock with planned revascularization to ECLS vs usual care. With improving survival outcomes in complex aortic surgery, there is a need for higher-quality evidence to guide which cooling and cerebral perfusion strategies may optimize cognitive outcomes in these patients. We review the short-term outcomes of the GOT ICE trial (Cognitive Effects of Body Temperature During Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest), a multicenter, randomized controlled trial of three different nadir temperatures, evaluating outcomes in cognition and associated changes in functional magnetic resonance imaging. Finally, both the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, American College of Chest Physicians and Heart Rhythm Society (ACC/AHA/ACCP/HRS) updated atrial fibrillation guidelines in 2023, and we review surgically relevant updates to the guidelines and the evidence behind them.

(547) - Building the Future: Novel Procurement Network Model to Support Rapidly Growing Cardiothoracic Transplantation Volumes

(547) - Building the Future: Novel Procurement Network Model to Support Rapidly Growing Cardiothoracic Transplantation Volumes

(103) - Prophylaxis of Donor-Derived HCV Infection in Cardiothoracic Transplant Recipients with Short-Course DAA Therapy

(103) - Prophylaxis of Donor-Derived HCV Infection in Cardiothoracic Transplant Recipients with Short-Course DAA Therapy

Year in Review 2023: Noteworthy Literature in Cardiothoracic Transplantation.

This review highlights key studies examining perioperative management of cardiothoracic transplantation published in 2023. Articles were manually screened after searching Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases for manuscripts related to cardiothoracic transplantation, which yielded 343 papers with 15 qualitatively selected as the most salient for readers. Overarching themes include differences in outcomes across the various etiologies of end-stage lung disease, novel developments to expand the donor pool, and multi-organ transplantation.

Role of HLA in cardiothoracic transplantation.

In current clinical practice, transplant clinicians create collaborative working relationships with histocompatibility laboratory scientists to identify the risk of long-term graft failure, which may assist in establishing strategies for treatment and surveillance. Transplant immunology research also focuses on optimizing human leukocyte antibody tissue typing and defines the most effective test for detecting the presence of donor-specific antibodies. Although several studies have been conducted, data on pediatric heart transplant recipients are limited. Epitope load information may be utilized to identify donors with permissible human leukocyte antibody mismatches to increase transplant success. Although current guidelines do not consider human leukocyte antibody epitope-based matching tools, these guidelines could be useful for identifying recipients at a high risk of donor-specific antibody production, which would be appropriate for routine donor-specific antibody screening to initiate early interventions to prevent antibody-mediated rejection. Human leukocyte antibody matching at the epitope level offers an effective approach for identifying acceptable mismatches in sensitized patients and provides information about epitope loads. In the future, eplet matching may be used to define the best immunosuppressive therapy protocol for cardiothoracic organ transplantation. This report provides an overview of the role of human leukocyte antibodies in heart and lung transplantation.

Incidence and Outcomes of Re-Exploration in Adult Cardiac Surgery at A Tertiary Care Hospital

Introduction: Postoperative bleeding is a significant complication following cardiac surgery, with a global re-exploration incidence of 2-5%. This study aims to investigate re-exploration rates, risk factors, and outcomes within the unique context of a tertiary care center in Nepal. Methods: In this retrospective, single-center study, we analyzed all consecutive adult patients (≥18 years) who underwent cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) at the Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Centre (Nepal) between 2018-2021. Data on demographics, clinical characteristics, operative details, re-exploration, and outcomes were extracted from medical records. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, independent samples t-tests, and logistic regression. Results: Of 720 patients, 56 (7.8%) required re-exploration for bleeding. Emergency procedures were strongly associated with higher re-exploration (p<0.05). Non-surgical bleeding was the primary cause in 42.9% of cases. Independent risk factors included preoperative deranged LFTs (OR=2.1, 95% CI: 1.2-3.7), elevated creatinine (>1.5 mg/dL, OR= 3.2, 95% CI: 1.8-5.6), prolonged CPB time (>120 min), and substantial transfusion requirements. Modified Bentall's procedures had the highest re-exploration rate (21.4%). Re-explored patients experienced higher AKI rates (87.5%), longer hospitalizations (13.6 vs. 7.2 days, p<0.001), and increased in-hospital mortality confined to emergency cases (1.94%). Conclusion: Emergency procedures had higher rate of re-exploration. Preoperative deranged LFTs, elevated creatinine, prolonged CPB time, and substantial transfusion requirements were independent risk factors for re-exploration. Re-explored cases experienced higher complication. In-hospital mortality were confined to emergency cases only.

Predicting Length of Hospital Stay Following Adult Cardiac Surgery: A Prospective Observational Study

INTRODUCTION: Despite life-saving benefits, adult cardiac surgery presents challenges due to potential for extended hospital stays and resource strain. Accurately predicting length of stay (LOS) is crucial for efficient resource allocation and patient discharge planning. The study aims to assess factors associated with LOS following adult cardiac surgery and proposed a model for predicting LOS after adult cardiac surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted at Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Center from September 2019 to May 2021, enrolling 249 adults undergoing cardiac surgery. A prospective observational study was conducted at Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Center from September 2019 to May 2021, enrolling 249 adults undergoing cardiac surgery. Non-probability consecutive sampling was employed and a standardized data collection form was used to record patient-related, cardiacrelated, operation-related, and postoperative characteristics including LOS. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis were employed to meet the objectives. RESULTS: The study reported a median length of hospital stay as 10 days with interquartile range 6 days. Patients who experienced prolonged LOS (>13 days) after cardiac surgery accounted for 21.70% of the total sample. In an adjusted relationships, only female sex (AOR= 1.957; 95% CI: 1.022 - 3.745), previous cardiac surgery (AOR: 2.684, 95% CI: 1.314 - 7.885), active IE (AOR: 23.187, 95% CI: 2.467 - 217.969), and ECA (AOR: 3.891, 95% CI: 1.135 - 13.332) were identified as significant predictors of prolonged postoperative LOS. CONCLUSIONS: By understanding the factors influencing LOS following cardiac surgery, clinicians can optimize care plans and resource allocation, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

Summary of a consensus conference on heart-liver transplantation

Patients with severe heart disease may have coexisting liver disease from various causes. The incidence of combined heart-liver transplant (CHLT) is increasing as more patients with congenital heart disease survive to adulthood and develop advanced heart failure with associated liver disease from chronic right-sided heart or Fontan failure. However, the criteria for CHLT have not been established. To address this unmet need, a virtual consensus conference was organized on June 10, 2022, endorsed by the American Society of Transplantation. The conference represented a collaborative effort by experts in cardiothoracic and liver transplantation from across the United States to assess interdisciplinary criteria for liver transplantation in the CHLT candidate, surgical considerations of CHLT, current allocation system that generally results in the liver following the heart for CHLT, and optimal post-CHLT management. The conference served as a forum to unify criteria between the different specialties and to forge a pathway for patients who may need dual organ transplantation. Due to the continuing shortage of available donor organs, ethical issues related to multiorgan transplantation were also debated. The findings and consensus statements are presented.

Ultrasonography Imaging versus Waveform Capnography in Detecting Endotracheal Tube Placement during Intubation at a Tertiary Hospital.

There is continued research to find new faster, highly accurate, easily accessible, and portable methods of confirming endotracheal tube position during intubation. A newer modality for visualizing endotracheal tube location is transtracheal or transcricothyroid ultrasonography. The aim of this study was to see if ultrasound machine can also be routinely used for the confirmation of endotracheal tube position in operating theaters along with capnograph. The study was observational and prospective, conducted from January 2017 to July 2017. Study locations were at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital and Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Center operating rooms. Sample size taken was 95. In the study, 11 patients had esophageal intubation out of the 95. The accuracy of both ultrasonography and capnography was found to be 96.84%. For ultrasonography, the sensitivity, specificity, along with positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 97.62%, 90.91%, 98.80%, and 83.33%, respectively, while that for capnography were found to be 96.43%, 100%, 100%, and 78.57%, respectively. The kappa value was calculated to be 0.749, which suggested the degree of agreement of result between the methods to be good. Compared to capnography, ultrasonography was found to be significantly faster for the confirmation of endotracheal tube location by 16.36 s (15.70-17.02) (P = 0.011). Both waveform capnography and ultrasonography were found to be accurate and reliable in confirming endotracheal tube location. The use of ultrasound during intubation can help confirm endotracheal tube location faster and also aid in precision when used along with capnography. Manual bag ventilations are not necessary when confirming endotracheal tube position by ultrasonography and thus may help in preventing aspiration of gastric contents into the lungs of the patient.

The Year in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia: Selected Highlights From 2023

This special article is the 16th in an annual series for the Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia. The authors thank the editor-in-chief, Dr. Kaplan, and the editorial board for the opportunity to continue this series, namely the research highlights of the past year in the specialty of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesiology. The major themes selected for 2023 are outlined in this introduction, and each highlight is reviewed in detail in the main article. The literature highlights in the specialty for 2023 begin with an update on perioperative rehabilitation in cardiothoracic surgery, with a focus on novel methods to best assess patients in the preoperative and postoperative periods, and the impact of rehabilitation on outcomes. The second major theme is focused on cardiac surgery, with the authors discussing new insights into inhaled pulmonary vasodilators, coronary revascularization surgery, and discussion of causes of coronary graft failure after surgery. The third theme is focused on cardiothoracic transplantation, with discussions focusing on bridge-to-transplantationstrategies. The fourth theme is focused on mechanical circulatory support, with discussions focusing on bothtemporary and durable support. The fifth and final theme is an update on medical cardiology, with a focus on outcomes ofinvasive approaches to heart disease. The themes selected for this article are only a few of the diverse advances in the specialty during 2023. These highlights will inform the reader of key updates on various topics, leading to improved perioperative outcomes for patients with cardiothoracic and vascular disease.

From 6-wk Lungs to 6 y: Increasing the Donor Pool for Pediatric Lung Transplantation.

Lung transplantation in the pediatric population is a challenge. With the donor pool being so small and lungs from young donors rare and precious, every organ available needs to be utilized to its best potential. Here, we describe the case of a 6-wk-old donor of double lungs to a 5-mo-old baby girl diagnosed with alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of the pulmonary veins. The recipient is doing very well, 6 y after the transplant, now following normal growth. The challenges facing pediatric cardiothoracic transplantation in terms of organ supply and demand are enormous. In this article, we discuss some of the issues around the shortage of organs and alternatives to increase the organ donor pool.