Heart transplant program at IRCCS-ISMETT: Impact of mechanical circulatory support on pre- and post -transplant survival

Background: Heart transplantation (HTx) improves the quality of life and survival in patients affected by end-stage heart failure. The purpose of the current study is to present the patients' clinical data and results of HTx in a single Center of Sicily. Focus on survival after pre and post HTx mechanical circulatory support use will be performed. Methods. 133 HTx were done from 2004 to the end of 2015. The average donor age was 34 +/- 13.5 years and the proportion of male donors was 67%. Percentage of use of mechanical circulatory support to bridge patients to HTx was 18%. Results. Overall pre-transplant mechanical circulatory support was not correlated to worse post-transplant prognosis, p = 0.757. Severe primary early graft failure requiring extra corporeal membrane oxygenator support strongly impact the early mortality after heart transplantation (p < 0.001). Conclusions. The results of HTx at ISMETT are comparable to those reported in high volume Italian transplant centers as well as in the ISHLT registry. The favorable outcome can be related to focus on multidisciplinary approach, strict recipients' selection and young donor population. Post HTx mechanical circulatory support use in general remains associated with worse post-transplant outcomes. This does not apply to pre-op mechanical circulatory support population. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.