“The influence of mechanical circulatory support on post-transplant outcomes in pediatric patients” was published in the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation in June of 2021. The multicenter study from the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation Registry compares outcomes of 1,095 patients <18 years.
Our key takeaway? Children supported with VADs prior to heart transplant have survival outcomes similar to those not on MCS and far better than those previously on ECMO.
Researchers found children with congenital heart disease (CHD) supported with ECMO prior to transplant have extremely poor outcomes; however ECMO may remain a feasible pretransplant support strategy in patients without underlying anatomic risk factors.
Importantly, patients supported with VAD and ECMO have outcomes which are similar to those supported with ECMO alone, and significantly worse than those supported exclusively with a VAD.
The study included ACTION members:
- Jonathan Edelson
- Katsuhide Maeda
- Danielle Burstein
- Carol Wittlieb-Weber
- Kimberly Lin
- Matthew O’Connor
- Joseph Rossano.
CITATION
Edelson JB, Huang Y, Griffis H, Huang J, Mascio CE, Chen JM, Maeda K, Burstein DS, Wittlieb-Weber C, Lin KY, O’Connor MJ, Rossano JW. The influence of mechanical Circulatory support on post-transplant outcomes in pediatric patients: A multicenter study from the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) Registry. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2021 Nov;40(11):1443-1453. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2021.06.003. Epub 2021 Jun 11. PMID: 34253457.
