Checkpoint inhibitor-induced fulminant myocarditis, complete atrioventricular block and myasthenia gravis-a case report

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized cancer therapy over the last decade. Pembrolizumab, a humanized monoclonal IgG4 antibody, binds to the programmed death 1 (PD-1) receptor, blocking its interaction with programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and thereby increasing the anti-tumor activity of the host immune system. These drugs are associated with immune-mediated side effects that can be life threatening, and myocarditis is among the most serious events. We present a 48-year-old woman with a history of progressive thymoma who developed complete atrioventricular block associated with fulminant myocarditis and myasthenia gravis 2 weeks after starting treatment with pembrolizumab. She had also presented a couple of days before to the emergency department due to dyspnea that was related to pleural effusion. Electrocardiogram (ECG) and echocardiogram were unremarkable, but she had very mildly increased troponin levels that were attributed to acute respiratory compromise, so she was discharged after successful thoracentesis. Despite aggressive treatment combination of high-dose corticosteroids, immunosuppressive agents and anti-thymocyte globulin, the disease rapidly progressed to the fatal outcome. This report remarks on the importance of rapid consideration of ICI-induced myocarditis even if cardiac biomarkers are slightly elevated, as a mild presentation can go unnoticed and progress to a severe case. Therefore, a high index of suspicion is warranted in these patients and cardiac imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance could have a role diagnosing incipient cardiac inflammation.

Transplantation of a heart donated after circulatory death via thoraco-abdominal normothermic regional perfusion and results from the first Spanish case

BACKGROUND

Controlled donation after circulatory death (cDCD) has emerged as one of the main strategies for increasing the organ donor pool. Because of the ischemic injury that follows the withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies, hearts from cDCD donors have not been considered for transplantation until recently. The ex-situ perfusion of hearts directly procured from cDCD donors has been used to allow the continuous perfusion of the organ and the assessment of myocardial viability prior to transplantation. Based on our experience with abdominal normothermic regional perfusion in cDCD, we designed a protocol to recover and validate hearts from cDCD donors using thoraco-abdominal normothermic regional perfusion without the utilization of an ex-situ device.

CASE PRESENTATION

We describe the first case of a cDCD heart transplant performed with this approach in Spain. The donor was a 43-year-old asthmatic female diagnosed with severe hypoxic encephalopathy. She was considered a potential cDCD donor and a suitable candidate for multiorgan procurement including the heart via thoraco-abdominal normothermic regional perfusion. The heart recipient was a 60-year-old male diagnosed with amyloid cardiomyopathy. Cold ischemia time was 55 min. The surgery was uneventful.

CONCLUSIONS

This case report, the first of its kind in Spain, supports the feasibility of evaluating and successfully transplanting cDCD hearts without the need for ex-situ perfusion based on the use of thoraco-abdominal normothermic regional perfusion opening the way for multiorgan donation in cDCD.