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Godown J, Cantor R, Koehl D, Cummings E, Vo JB, Dodd DA, Lytrivi I, Boyle GJ, Sutcliffe DL, Kleinmahon JA, Shih R, Urschel S, Das B, Carlo WF, Zuckerman WA, West SC, McCulloch MA, Zinn MD, Simpson KE, Kindel SJ, Szmuszkovicz JR, Chrisant M, Auerbach SR, Carboni MP, Kirklin JK, Hsu DT. Practice variation in the diagnosis of acute rejection among pediatric heart transplant centers: An analysis of the pediatric heart transplant society (PHTS) registry. J Heart Lung Transplant 2021; 40:1550-1559. [PMID: 34598871 DOI: 10.1016/j.healun.2021.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Freedom from rejection in pediatric heart transplant recipients is highly variable across centers. This study aimed to assess the center variation in methods used to diagnose rejection in the first-year post-transplant and determine the impact of this variation on patient outcomes. METHODS The PHTS registry was queried for all rejection episodes in the first-year post-transplant (2010-2019). The primary method for rejection diagnosis was determined for each event as surveillance biopsy, echo diagnosis, or clinical. The percentage of first-year rejection events diagnosed by surveillance biopsy was used to approximate the surveillance strategy across centers. Methods of rejection diagnosis were described and patient outcomes were assessed based on surveillance biopsy utilization among centers. RESULTS A total of 3985 patients from 56 centers were included. Of this group, 873 (22%) developed rejection within the first-year post-transplant. Surveillance biopsy was the most common method of rejection diagnosis (71.7%), but practices were highly variable across centers. The majority (73.6%) of first rejection events occurred within 3-months of transplantation. Diagnosis modality in the first-year was not independently associated with freedom from rejection, freedom from rejection with hemodynamic compromise, or overall graft survival. CONCLUSIONS Rejection in the first-year after pediatric heart transplant occurs in 22% of patients and most commonly in the first 3 months post-transplant. Significant variation exists across centers in the methods used to diagnose rejection in pediatric heart transplant recipients, however, these variable strategies are not independently associated with freedom from rejection, rejection with hemodynamic compromise, or overall graft survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Godown
- Pediatric Cardiology, Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, Tennessee.
| | - R Cantor
- Kirklin Institute for Research in Surgical Outcomes, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - D Koehl
- Kirklin Institute for Research in Surgical Outcomes, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - E Cummings
- Kirklin Institute for Research in Surgical Outcomes, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - J B Vo
- Kirklin Institute for Research in Surgical Outcomes, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - D A Dodd
- Pediatric Cardiology, Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - I Lytrivi
- Pediatric Cardiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York
| | - G J Boyle
- Pediatric Cardiology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio
| | - D L Sutcliffe
- Pediatric Cardiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
| | - J A Kleinmahon
- Pediatric Cardiology, Ochsner Hospital for Children, New Orleans, Louisiana
| | - R Shih
- Pediatric Cardiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
| | - S Urschel
- Pediatric Cardiology, Stollery Children's Hospital, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - B Das
- Pediatric Cardiology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi
| | - W F Carlo
- Pediatric Cardiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - W A Zuckerman
- Pediatric Cardiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York
| | - S C West
- Pediatric Cardiology, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - M A McCulloch
- Pediatric Cardiology, University of Virginia Children's Hospital, Charlottesville, Virginia
| | - M D Zinn
- Pediatric Cardiology, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - K E Simpson
- Pediatrics, Division of Cardiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, Colorado
| | - S J Kindel
- Pediatric Cardiology, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
| | - J R Szmuszkovicz
- Pediatric Cardiology, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - M Chrisant
- Pediatric Cardiology, Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, Hollywood, Florida
| | - S R Auerbach
- Pediatrics, Division of Cardiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, Colorado
| | - M P Carboni
- Pediatric Cardiology, Duke Children's Hospital, Durham, North Carolina
| | - J K Kirklin
- Kirklin Institute for Research in Surgical Outcomes, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - D T Hsu
- Pediatric Cardiology, Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, New York
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