Comparison of Infectious Complications Encountered in Heart Transplant Recipients With and Without Pre-Transplant LVAD Therapy

Background: Due to growing discrepancy between the number of candidates for heart transplant therapy and the available donor organs in the United States, implantable left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are increasingly being used as a bridge to transplantation and also as destination myocardial surrogate therapy. However, little is known about the impact of pre-heart transplant LVAD therapy on the risk of post-transplant infectious complications. Objective: To assess the differences in the types of infections encountered in heart transplant recipients who receive pre-transplant LVAD therapy compared to those who do not receive any assist device. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of all patients undergoing heart transplantation at three Mayo Clinic sites in Minnesota, Arizona and Florida, from January 2007 to June 2013. Patients were included in this study if 1) had a heart transplant without any assist device or 2) if they had a Heartmate II device as a bridge to transplant. Patient...