Cardiac transplantation in children

Abstract

Heart transplantation is becoming an accepted treatment for children with irreversible and profoundly disabling cardiomyopathy. The risk is much higher when there is underlying congenital heart disease, and even moderately elevated pulmonary vascular resistance is a contraindication to orthotopic heart transplantation. Heterotopic or heart-lung transplantation may be considered in patients with elevated pulmonary vascular resistance. In a few centers, heart transplantation is being performed as an alternative to palliative surgical procedures in children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Chronic immune suppression is necessary in all patients postoperatively. Cyclosporine and prednisone are the mainstays of therapy, and azathioprine is often added to the regimen. ATG is used prophylactically in the immediate postoperative period and acute rejection episodes are treated with pulses of prednisone, ATG, or OKT3. Infection continues to be a major problem, and the chronic long-term effects of both rejection and the drugs used to treat it, especially cyclosporine, are also very important. Coronary artery disease and lymphoproliferative disease are causes of death, and hypertension and decreased renal function are present in almost all survivors. The shortage of donor hearts is becoming a progressively more important problem and may affect selection criteria in the future. On the positive side, most children can return to age-appropriate activities following transplantation and they seem to tolerate their chronic illness and its attendant repeated invasive procedures surprisingly well.