Background: We sought to compare heart transplant (HTX) outcomes from patients with a total artificial heart (TAH), biventricular assist device (BiVAD), or left ventricular assist device (LVAD) as a bridge to transplant (BTT). Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (INTERMACS)-Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) created a dataset with TAH or durable mechanical circulatory support (MCS) who reached HTX between 2006 and 2015.
Methods: The retrospective analysis compared TAH outcomes with those with a BiVAD or LVAD before HTX. The primary outcome was posttransplant survival at 1, 36, and 60 months. Secondary outcomes included simultaneous heart-kidney transplants, donor characteristics, and mortality risk factors. INTERMACS-SRTR cohort had, at the time of HTX, 2762 patients with LVAD; 205 BiVAD (139 durable and 66 temporary RVAD); 176 TAH (6 prior HeartMate II).
Results: Sixty months after HTX, mortality rates were 16.5% in the total group: LVAD 15.2%, BiVAD 22.4%, and TAH 29%. Survival differed between the LVAD, the TAH, and BiVAD but not between the BiVAD and TAH groups. One-year survival and complication rates were similar across groups-there was no difference in survival by donor age in the overall cohort. There was a difference in TTD based on recipient age in the LVAD group but not in BiVAD or TAH groups. Occurrence of HTX-kidney and post-transplant dialysis were higher in the TAH versus LVAD and BiVAD groups.
Conclusions: The TAH is an efficacious BTT. Refinements in technology and patient selection may improve outcomes.
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