The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation
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J. Heart Lung Transplant. · Mar 2005
Relationship between bridging with ventricular assist device on rejection after heart transplantation.
Ventricular assist devices (VADs) are commonly used to bridge patients to heart transplantation. Recipients of VADs may develop anti-human histocompatibility leukocyte antigen antibodies, as reflected by elevated panel-reactive antibodies (PRA). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between bridging with VAD before heart transplantation and development of cellular rejection, humoral rejection, and allograft vasculopathy after transplantation. ⋯ Some patients bridged to cardiac transplantation with VADs have increased PRA before heart transplantation, but this does not appear to translate into increased risk of either humoral or cellular rejection after transplantation or development of allograft vasculopathy as detected by coronary angiography.