BACKGROUND: Transplant centers are reluctant to perform heart transplantation in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection because augmented immunosuppression could potentially increase mortality. However, there have been few studies examining whether HCV infection reduces survival after heart transplantation. METHODS: We used data from the the U.S. Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients to perform a multicenter cohort study evaluating the association between recipient pre-transplant HCV status and survival after heart transplantation. Adults undergoing heart transplantation between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 2007 were eligible to participate. RESULTS: Among 20,687 heart transplant recipients (443 HCV-positive and 20,244 HCV-negative) at 103 institutions followed for a mean of 5.6 years, mortality was higher among HCV-positive than HCV-negative recipients (177 [40%] vs 6,367 [31.5%]; p = 0.0001). After matching on propensity score, hospital and gender, the hazard ratio (HR) of death for HCV-positive heart transplant recipients was 1.32 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08 to 1.61). Mortality rates were higher among HCV-positive heart transplant recipients at 1 year (9.4% vs 8.2%), 5 years (26.3% vs 22.9%), 10 years (53.1% vs 43.4%) and 15 years (74.8% vs 62.3%) post-transplantation. HRs did not vary by gender or overall number of heart transplantations performed at the center. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-transplant HCV positivity is associated with decreased survival after heart transplantation. 2011 International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
BACKGROUND: Transplant centers are reluctant to perform heart transplantation in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection because augmented immunosuppression could potentially increase mortality. However, there have been few studies examining whether HCV infection reduces survival after heart transplantation. METHODS: We used data from the the U.S. Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients to perform a multicenter cohort study evaluating the association between recipient pre-transplant HCV status and survival after heart transplantation. Adults undergoing heart transplantation between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 2007 were eligible to participate. RESULTS: Among 20,687 heart transplant recipients (443 HCV-positive and 20,244 HCV-negative) at 103 institutions followed for a mean of 5.6 years, mortality was higher among HCV-positive than HCV-negative recipients (177 [40%] vs 6,367 [31.5%]; p = 0.0001). After matching on propensity score, hospital and gender, the hazard ratio (HR) of death for HCV-positive heart transplant recipients was 1.32 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08 to 1.61). Mortality rates were higher among HCV-positive heart transplant recipients at 1 year (9.4% vs 8.2%), 5 years (26.3% vs 22.9%), 10 years (53.1% vs 43.4%) and 15 years (74.8% vs 62.3%) post-transplantation. HRs did not vary by gender or overall number of heart transplantations performed at the center. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-transplant HCV positivity is associated with decreased survival after heart transplantation. 2011 International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Authors: Leanne B Gasink; Emily A Blumberg; A Russell Localio; Shashank S Desai; Ajay K Israni; Ebbing Lautenbach Journal: JAMA Date: 2006-10-18 Impact factor: 56.272
Authors: D L Thomas; J Astemborski; R M Rai; F A Anania; M Schaeffer; N Galai; K Nolt; K E Nelson; S A Strathdee; L Johnson; O Laeyendecker; J Boitnott; L E Wilson; D Vlahov Journal: JAMA Date: 2000-07-26 Impact factor: 56.272
Authors: M P Manns; J G McHutchison; S C Gordon; V K Rustgi; M Shiffman; R Reindollar; Z D Goodman; K Koury; M Ling; J K Albrecht Journal: Lancet Date: 2001-09-22 Impact factor: 79.321
Authors: M Castella; G Tenderich; M M Koerner; L Arusoglu; A El-Banayosy; U Schulz; B Schulze; S Schulte-Eistrup; C Wolff; K Minami; R Koerfer Journal: J Heart Lung Transplant Date: 2001-05 Impact factor: 10.247