Effects of cold ischemia time and donor age on postoperative and mid-term follow-ups of heart transplantation / 中华器官移植杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the effects of cold ischemia time (CIT) and donor age upon postoperative and long-term follow-ups of heart transplantation.Methods:A total of 761 patients underwent orthotopic heart transplantation from 2004 to 2018. According to the length of CIT, they were divided into group of >4 hours (n=502) and group of <4 hours (n=259). Each group was further divided into two subgroups according to the age of donors group of <40 years and group of <40 years. The basic profiles of recipients and donors were recorded, including applying mechanical assistance during and after operation, postoperative mortality and follow-up survival rate.Results:The average age of donors was (31.1±8.6)(5-58) years and the average CIT (5.3±2.0)(1.0-12.0) hours. No significant difference existed in hospital mortality between CIT groups (3.5% vs 5.6%, P=0.22). In subgroup analysis, there was a significant increase (4.3% vs 12.0%, P=0.01) in subgroup with CIT >4 hours and higher donor age. No significant difference existed in the number of patients using mechanical assistance during or after operation. During follow-ups, no significant difference existed in survival rate between CIT groups ( P=0.97) or survival rate among subgroups. Conclusions:Long CIT has a more significant effect on postoperative mortality of heart donors. However, it does not significantly increase the proportion of mechanical assistance, follow-up mortality and the incidence of cardiac allograft vasculopathy.