Faculty Collaboration Database

The effect of donor alcohol abuse on outcomes following heart transplantation. Clin Transplant 2019 Feb;33(2):e13461

Date

12/12/2018

Pubmed ID

30536743

DOI

10.1111/ctr.13461

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85060655238 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   3 Citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Current guidelines recommend against the use of hearts from donors that abuse alcohol. We explored the effect of donor alcohol abuse (AA) on cardiac allograft function and outcomes in heart transplant (HTx) recipients.

METHODS: Overall, 370 HTx recipients were divided into two groups: (a) the alcoholic donor group (AD, n = 58) and (b) the non-alcoholic donor group (NAD, n = 312).

RESULTS: Recipients in the AD group had a slower heart rate (86 ± 13 vs 93 ± 13, P = 0.004) and an increased incidence of early atrial fibrillation (AF) (30% vs 11%, P = 0.003). Echocardiographic left ventricular mass was higher among alcoholic donors (171.7 ± 66.7 vs 151.6 ± 54.7, P = 0.02). This difference remained present 1 year following HTx (185 ± 43 vs 166 ± 42, P = 0.007). E/E' was higher in the AD group (9.5 ± 3.9 vs 8.4 ± 2.9, P = 0.04) and a larger number of AD recipients had a ventilatory equivalent for VCO₂  > 34 (50% vs 31%, P = 0.04) on cardiopulmonary exercise test. There was no significant difference in rejection, cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV), or survival between the groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that donor AA does not impact rejection, CAV, or intermediate-term survival, but may cause increased incidence of post-HTx AF and impaired cardiac allograft diastolic function.

Author List

Newman J, Liebo M, Lowes BD, Ilias Basha H, Peled Y, Cendrowski E, Zolty R, Douglas D, Um JY, McGee E Jr, Heroux A, Raichlin E

Author

Eugenia Raichlin MD Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Alcoholism
Cause of Death
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Heart Diseases
Heart Transplantation
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Prognosis
Retrospective Studies
Risk Assessment
Risk Factors
Survival Rate
Tissue Donors