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Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease is associated with early sternotomy and left ventricular hypoplasia during infancy: a population-based retrospective review
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 August 2017
Abstract
Heart transplantation has been an option for children in Sweden since 1989. As our unit faced an increased rate of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder, the objective of the study was to identify possible risk factors.
This is a retrospective study of all children aged 0–18 years who underwent heart transplantation in Gothenburg from 1989 to 2014.
A total of 71 children underwent heart transplantation. The overall incidence of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder was 14% (10/71); however, 17% (6/36) of those undergoing transplantation after 2007 developed lymphoma, compared with only 10% (4/35) of transplantation cases before 2007 (p=0.85). The mean age at transplantation was 9 years (0–17). The mean post-transplant follow-up time was 5.5 years (0.5–21.9) in the group that developed post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder, compared with 10.2 years (0.02–25.2) in those who did not. In our study group, risk factors for post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder were surgically palliated CHD (p=0.0005), sternotomy during infancy (p⩽0.0001), hypoplastic left ventricle (p=0.0001), number of surgical events (p=0.0022), mismatch concerning Epstein–Barr virus infection – that is, a positive donor–negative recipient (p⩽0.0001) – and immunosuppressive treatment with tacrolimus compared with ciclosporine (p=0.028).
This study has three major findings. First, post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder only developed in subjects born with CHD. Second, the vast majority (9/10) of the subjects developing the disorder had undergone sternotomy as infants. Third, the number of surgical events correlated with a higher risk for developing post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder.
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