Rational Use of Mechanical Circulatory Support as a Bridge to Pediatric and Congenital Heart Transplantation

Introduction: Donor shortage and organ allocation is the main problem in pediatric heart transplant. Mechanical circulatory support is known to increase waiting list survival, but it is not routinely used in pediatric programs in Latin America.Methods: All patients listed for heart transplant and supported by a mechanical circulatory support between January 2012 and March 2016 were included in this retrospective single-center study. The endpoints were mechanical circulatory support time, complications, heart transplant survival and discharge from the hospital.Results: Twenty-nine patients from our waiting list were ...
Source: Brazilian Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery - Category: Cardiology Source Type: research