Clinically significant thrombosis in pediatric heart transplant recipients during their waiting period

International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation Guidelines for the Evaluation and Care of Cardiac Transplant Candidates-2024

The "International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation Guidelines for the Evaluation and Care of Cardiac Transplant Candidates-2024" updates and replaces the "Listing Criteria for Heart Transplantation: International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation Guidelines for the Care of Cardiac Transplant Candidates-2006" and the "2016 International Society for Heart Lung Transplantation Listing Criteria for Heart Transplantation: A 10-year Update." The document aims to provide tools to help integrate the numerous variables involved in evaluating patients for transplantation, emphasizing updating the collaborative treatment while waiting for a transplant. There have been significant practice-changing developments in the care of heart transplant recipients since the publication of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) guidelines in 2006 and the 10-year update in 2016. The changes pertain to 3 aspects of heart transplantation: (1) patient selection criteria, (2) care of selected patient populations, and (3) durable mechanical support. To address these issues, 3 task forces were assembled. Each task force was cochaired by a pediatric heart transplant physician with the specific mandate to highlight issues unique to the pediatric heart transplant population and ensure their adequate representation. This guideline was harmonized with other ISHLT guidelines published through November 2023. The 2024 ISHLT guidelines for the evaluation and care of cardiac transplant candidates provide recommendations based on contemporary scientific evidence and patient management flow diagrams. The American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association modular knowledge chunk format has been implemented, allowing guideline information to be grouped into discrete packages (or modules) of information on a disease-specific topic or management issue. Aiming to improve the quality of care for heart transplant candidates, the recommendations present an evidence-based approach.

Epidemiology and risk factors for thrombosis in children and newborns: systematic evaluation and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Thrombosis is a serious condition in children and neonates. However, the risk factors for thrombosis have not been conclusively determined. This study aimed to identify the risk factors for thrombosis in children and neonates in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) through a meta-analysis to better guide clinical treatment.

METHODS

A systematic search of electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, WOS, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP) was conducted to retrieve studies from creation on 23 May 2022. Data on the year of publication, study design, country of origin, number of patients/controls, ethnicity, and type of thrombus were extracted. The publication bias and heterogeneity between studies were assessed, and pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using fixed or random effects models.

RESULTS

A total of 18 studies met the inclusion criteria. The incidence of thrombosis in children was 2% per year (95% CI 1%-2%, P < 0.01). Infection and sepsis (OR = 1.95, P < 0.01), CVC (OR = 3.66, [95%CL 1.78-7.51], P < 0.01), mechanical ventilation (OR = 2.1, [95%CL1.47-3.01], P < 0.01), surgery (OR = 2.25, [95%CL1.2-4.22], P < 0.01), respiratory distress (OR = 1.39, [95%CL0.42-4.63], P < 0.01), ethnicities (OR = 0.88, [95%CL 0.79-0.98], P = 0.78), gestational age (OR = 1.5, [95%CL1.34-1.68], P = 0.65)were identified as risk factors for thrombosis.

CONCLUSIONS

This meta-analysis suggests that CVC, Surgery, mechanical ventilation, Infection/sepsis, gestational age, Respiratory distress, and different ethnicities are risk factors for thrombosis in children and neonates in ICU. These findings may help clinicians to identify high-risk patients and develop appropriate prevention strategies.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

PROSPERO (CRD 42022333449).

Barth Syndrome with Late-Onset Cardiomyopathy: A Missed Opportunity for Diagnosis

A male infant presented with neutropenia, growth delay, and death of a maternal uncle at age 2 years. Despite extensive evaluation over 10 years, Barth syndrome was not diagnosed until he presented in acute heart failure. Although late-onset cardiomyopathy is rare, persistence of common Barth features should have enabled earlier diagnosis.

Critical care for paediatric patients with heart failure

This review offers a critical-care perspective on the pathophysiology, monitoring, and management of acute heart failure syndromes in children. An in-depth understanding of the cardiovascular physiological disturbances in this population of patients is essential to correctly interpret clinical signs, symptoms and monitoring data, and to implement appropriate therapies. In this regard, the myocardial force-velocity relationship, the Frank-Starling mechanism, and pressure-volume loops are discussed. A variety of monitoring modalities are used to provide insight into the haemodynamic state, clinical trajectory, and response to treatment. Critical-care treatment of acute heart failure is based on the fundamental principles of optimising the delivery of oxygen and minimising metabolic demands. The former may be achieved by optimising systemic arterial oxygen content and the variables that determine cardiac output: heart rate and rhythm, preload, afterload, and contractility. Metabolic demands may be decreased by a number of ways including positive pressure ventilation, temperature control, and sedation. Mechanical circulatory support should be considered for refractory cases. In the near future, monitoring modalities may be improved by the capture and analysis of complex clinical data such as pressure waveforms and heart rate variability. Using predictive modelling and streaming analytics, these data may then be used to develop automated, real-time clinical decision support tools. Given the barriers to conducting multi-centre trials in this population of patients, the thoughtful analysis of data from multi-centre clinical registries and administrative databases will also likely have an impact on clinical practice.

Pediatric transplantation: preventing thrombosis

Due to progressive advances in surgical techniques, immunosuppressive therapies, and supportive care, outcomes from both solid organ transplantation and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation continue to improve. Thrombosis remains a challenging management issue in this context, with implications for both graft survival and long-term quality of life. Unfortunately, there remains a general paucity of pediatric-specific data regarding thrombosis incidence, risk stratification, and the safety or efficacy of preventative strategies with which to guide treatment algorithms. This review summarizes the available evidence and rationale underlying the spectrum of current practices aimed at preventing thrombosis in the transplant recipient, with a particular focus on risk factors, pathophysiology, and described antithrombotic regimens.