KIKUCHI Ken
   Department   School of Medicine(Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital), School of Medicine
   Position   Professor
Article types Case report
Language English
Peer review Peer reviewed
Title Heart transplant candidate with medical complexity in the era of prolonged left ventricular assist device support — A case report
Journal Formal name:Journal of cardiology cases.
Abbreviation:J Cardiol Cases
ISSN code:18785409
Volume, Issue, Page 23(2),pp.83-86
Author and coauthor Takada Takuma†, HATTORI Hidetoshi*, KIKUCHI Noriko, YUKI ICHIHARA, SAITO Satoshi, Endo Natsumi, Iguchi Shigekazu, Yoshida Atsushi, Kikuchi Ken, NIINAMI Hiroshi, Nobuhisa Hagiwara, SHINICHI NUNODA
Publication date 2020/10/22
Summary Heart transplantation improves quality of life and survival in patients with advanced heart failure. However, the shortage of available heart donors and technological advances for left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) have led to longer waiting times for transplantation, and long-term use of LVAD may increase the medical complexity of subsequent transplantation. We present the case of a 35-year-old man who underwent heart transplantation after being supported by an LVAD for 1490 days (∼4 years). He was sensitized with kidney dysfunction and recurrent infections, including candidemia, at the time of transplantation. He underwent a successful heart transplantation with pretransplant plasma exchange, intravenous immunoglobulin administration, early initiation of everolimus, and prompt management of infections.

<Learning objective: With a growing number of heart transplant candidates who are supported by left ventricular assist devices for long duration, managing such candidates is becoming increasingly complex and difficult to standardize. The present case had three problems that were linked to each other: (1) anti-HLA antibodies, (2) fungal infection, and (3) pre-transplantation renal dysfunction. Management of heart transplant candidates, including desensitization and immunosuppressive therapies, should be tailored to the individual and the clinical presentation to improve the survival and quality of life.>
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jccase.2020.09.010
PMID 33520030