Background: High-dosage inotrope use or periods of hypotension may cause rejection of donor hearts for transplantation. At our institution, we do not refuse potential donor organs based on these criteria alone before Swan-Ganz catheter (SGC) assessment. In this study, we evaluate the role of the SGC in donor heart resuscitation and selection and assess the outcome of using borderline organs.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 129 donors assessed between 1996 and 1999, all with complete hemodynamic data. Two sets of SGC measurements were analyzed: one set from the initial assessments, and one set from assessments made just before organ harvesting. The physiologic targets were mean blood pressure >60 mm Hg, central venous pressure <12 mm Hg, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure <12 mm Hg, left ventricular stroke work index >15 x g.m/m(2), and use of only one inotrope. A poorly functioning heart was defined as an organ failing on 2 or more of these criteria. Hemodynamic categories were defined as A, good function throughout assessment; B, sub-optimal function and then improvement; and C, decreasing or poor function throughout. We have a policy to avoid allocating sub-optimal organs to high-risk recipients.
Results: One hundred fourteen donor hearts went on to be transplanted: 75 as orthotopic hearts and 39 as heart-lungs (5 of these were heart, lung, and liver transplantations, not reported further here). Of the 75 donor hearts used for heart transplantations, 53 were from Category A, 9 were from Category B, and 13 were from Category C. Of the donor hearts used for the 34 heart-lung transplantations 16 were from Category A, 10 were from Category B, and 8 were from Category C. Three patients died of donor organ failure: 1 of the corresponding hearts was from Category B, and 2 were from Category C. When comparing separately the outcome of the 2 procedures, we found no significant difference in duration of stay in the intensive care unit, requirement for mechanical support, 30-day mortality, or 1-year survival among patients with hearts from Categories A, B, and C. Ischemic time was the only significant risk factor for death (p = 0.006).
Conclusions: Use of organs from Categories B and C permitted expansion of the donor pool without compromising short-term outcome. However, these organs should be used with caution in combination with other risk factors, in particular long ischemic time.