Does duration of donor brain injury affect outcome after orthotopic pediatric heart transplantation?
OBJECTIVE: We tested the hypothesis that duration of donor brain injury and death would have an adverse effect on recipient rejection and mortality in pediatric heart transplantation. METHODS: Ninety-three cardiac transplants were performed at our center from July 1, 1997, through June 30, 2003. The primary study end points were the number of rejection episodes and the time to first rejection. Secondary outcomes were early and late mortality. RESULTS: Among 88 recipients of 93 cardiac allografts, 5 (6%) and 1 (1%) received second and third allografts, respectively. Overall patient mortality (3 early and 2 late) was 6% (5/88), and overall graft loss was 6% (6/93). Median time from donor brain injury to declaration of brain death (brain injury interval), time from brain death to donor cardiectomy (brain death interval), and graft ischemia time were 38, 24, and 3.3 hours, respectively. Cox regression analysis (adjusting for United Network for Organ Sharing status, ventilator dependence, e
