Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-skm99 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T12:24:01.046Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Outcome for children following admission to hospital with a first episode of heart failure, due to heart muscle disease, in the ventricular assist device (VAD) era

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 July 2019

Andres Rico-Armada
Affiliation:
Adult Congenital and Paediatric Heart Unit, Freeman hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE7 7DD, England
David S. Crossland
Affiliation:
Adult Congenital and Paediatric Heart Unit, Freeman hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE7 7DD, England Cardiovascular Research Centre, Institute of Genetic Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Louise Coats
Affiliation:
Adult Congenital and Paediatric Heart Unit, Freeman hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE7 7DD, England Cardiovascular Research Centre, Institute of Genetic Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Zdenka Reinhardt
Affiliation:
Adult Congenital and Paediatric Heart Unit, Freeman hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE7 7DD, England Cardiovascular Research Centre, Institute of Genetic Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Anthony Hermuzi
Affiliation:
Adult Congenital and Paediatric Heart Unit, Freeman hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE7 7DD, England
Neil Seller
Affiliation:
Adult Congenital and Paediatric Heart Unit, Freeman hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE7 7DD, England
Asif Hasan
Affiliation:
Adult Congenital and Paediatric Heart Unit, Freeman hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE7 7DD, England Cardiovascular Research Centre, Institute of Genetic Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
John J. O’Sullivan*
Affiliation:
Adult Congenital and Paediatric Heart Unit, Freeman hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE7 7DD, England Cardiovascular Research Centre, Institute of Genetic Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
*
Author for correspondence: Dr John O’Sullivan, Consultant in paediatric and adult congenital heart disease, Adult Congenital & Paediatric Heart Unit, Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE7 7DD, England. Tel: 00 44 191 2137146; Fax: 00 44 191 2231314; E-mail: john.o’sullivan@nuth.nhs.uk

Abstract

Aims:

Most reports on the outcome of children who present with heart failure, due to heart muscle disease, are from an era when ventricular assist devices were not available. This study provides outcome data for the current era where prolonged circulatory support can be considered for most children.

Methods & Results:

Data was retrieved on 100 consecutive children, who presented between 2010 – 2016, with a first diagnosis of unexplained heart failure. Hospital outcome was classified as either death, transplantation, recovery of function or persistent heart failure. Median age at presentation was 24 months and 58% were < 5 years old. Hospital mortality was 12% and 59% received a heart transplant. Most, 79%, of the transplants were carried out on patients with a device. Recovery of function was observed in 18% and 10% stabilised on oral therapy. Eighty-four percent of the deaths occurred in the <5 year old group. Shorter duration of support was associated with survival (34 days in survivors versus 106 in non-survivors, p = 0.01) and 72% were on an assist device at time of death.

Conclusion:

Heart failure in children who require referral to a transplant unit is a serious illness with a high chance of either transplantation or death. Modifications in assist devices will be required to improve safety, especially for children < 5 years old where the donor wait may be prolonged. The identification of children who may recover function requires further study.

Type
Original Article
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Towbin, JA, Lowe, AM, Colan, SD, et al. Incidence, causes and outcome of dilated cardiomyopathy in children. JAMA 2006; 296: 18671876.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Daubeney, PE, Nugent, AW, Chondros, P, et al. Clinical features and outcomes of childhood dilated cardiomyopathy: results from a national population based study. Circulation 2006; 114: 26712678.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Singh, RK, Canter, CE, Shi, L, et al. Survival without transplantation among children with dilated cardiomyopathy. J Am Coll Cardiol 2017; 70: 26632673.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tsirka, AE, Trinkaus, K, Chen, SC, et al. Improved outcomes of paediatric dilated cardiomyopathy with utilization of heart transplantation. J Am Coll Cardiol 2004; 44: 391397.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shamszad, P, Hall, M, Rossano, JW, et al. Characteristics and outcomes of heart failure related intensive care unit admissions in children with cardiomyopathy. J Card Fail 2013; 19: 672677.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
D’Ambrosio, A, Patti, G, Manzoli, A, et al. The fate of acute myocarditis between spontaneous improvement and evolution to dilated cardiomyopathy: a review. Heart 2001; 85: 499504.Google ScholarPubMed
McCarthy, RE, Boehmer, JP, Hruban, RH, et al. Long-term outcome of fulminant myocarditis as compared with acute (nonfulminant) myocarditis. N Engl J Med 2000; 342: 690695.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Foerster, SR, Canter, CE, Cinar, A, et al. Ventricular remodelling and survival are more favourable for myocarditis than for idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy in childhood. Circ Heart Fail. 2010; 3: 689697.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gagliandi, MG, Bevilacqua, M, Bassano, C, et al. Long term follow up of children with myocarditis treated by immunosuppression and of children with dilated cardiomyopathy. Heart 2004; 90: 11671171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Everitt, MD, Sleeper, MA, Minmin, L, et al. Recovery of echocardiographic function in children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. J Am Coll Cardiol 2014; 63: 14051413.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Figulla, HR, Rahlf, G, Nieger, M, Luig, H, Kreuzer, H. Spontaneous hemodynamic improvement or stabilisation and associated biopsy findings in patients with congestive cardiomyopathy. Circulation 1985; 71: 10951104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zafar, F, Castleberry, C, Khan, MS, et al. Pediatric heart transplant waiting list mortality in the era of ventricular assist devices. J Heart LungTransplant 2015; 34: 8288.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Almond, CS, Morales, DL, Blackstone, EH, et al. Berlin Heart Excor ventricular assist device for bridge to heart transplantation in U.S. children. Circulation 2013; 127: 17021711.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Andrews, RE, Fenton, MJ, Ridout, DA, Burch, M. New-onset heart failure due to heart muscle disease in childhood. Circulation 2008; 117: 7984.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alexander, P, Daubeney, PE, Nugent, AW, et al. Long term outcomes of dilated cardiomyopathy diagnosed during childhood. Circulation 2013; 128: 20392046.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pietra, BA, Kantor, PF, Bartlett, HL, et al. Early predictors of survival to and after heart transplantation in children with dilated cardiomyopathy. Circulation 2012; 126: 10791086.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Webber, SA. New onset heart failure in children in the absence of structural congenital heart disease. Circulation 2008; 117: 1112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arola, A, Touminen, J, Ruuskanen, O, Jokinen, E. Idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy in children: prognostic indicators and outcome. Pediatrics 1998; 101: 369376.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hollander, SA, Bernstein, D, Yeh, J, Dao, D, Sun, HY, Rosenthal, D. Outcomes of children following a first hospitalisation for dilated cardiomyopathy. Circ Heart Fail 2012; 5: 437443.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lipshultz, SE, Sleeper, LA, Towbin, JA, et al. The incidence of pediatric cardiomyopathy in two regions of the United States. N Engl J Med 2003; 348: 16471655.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nugent, AW, Daubeney, PE, Chondros, P, et al. The epidemiology of childhood cardiomyopathy in Australia. N Engl J Med 2003; 348: 16391646.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morales, DL, Almond, CS, Jaquiss, RD, et al. Bridging children of all sizes to cardiac transplantation: the initial multi-centre North American experience with the Berlin Heart EXCOR ventricular assist device. J Heart Ling Transplant 2011; 30: 18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andrews, RE, Fenton, MJ, Dominquez, T, Burch, M. Heart failure due to heart muscle disease in children: a 5–10 year follow-up study in the UK and Ireland. ESC Heart Failure 2016; 3: 107114.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alvarez, JA, Orav, J, Wilkinson, JD, et al. Competing risks for death and cardiac transplantation in children with dilated cardiomyopathy. Circulation 2011; 124: 814823.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O’sullivan, JJ, Roche, SL, Crossland, DS, Chaudhari, MP, Kirk, RC, Hasan, A. Recovery of heart function in children with acute severe heart failure. Transplantation 2008; 85: 975979.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jones, CB, Cassidy, JV, Kirk, R, et al. Successful bridge to recovery with 120 days of mechanical support in an infant with myocarditis. J Heart Lung Transplant 2009; 28: 202205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birks, EJ, George, RS, Hedger, M, et al. Reversal of severe heart failure with a continuous flow left ventricular assist device and pharmacological therapy. Circulation 2011; 123: 381390.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simon, MR, Primack, BA, Tueteberg, J, et al. Left ventricular remodelling and cardiac recovery on mechanical circulatory support. J Card Fail 2010; 16: 99102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blume, ED, Rosenthal, DN, Rossano, JW, et al. Outcomes of children implanted with ventricular assist devices in the Unites States. J Heart Lung Transplant 2016; 35: 578584.CrossRefGoogle Scholar