IMR Press / RCM / Volume 25 / Issue 5 / DOI: 10.31083/j.rcm2505153
Open Access Original Research
Dynamic LVEF Decline and Serum NT-proBNP and Uric Acid Levels before Heart Transplantation are Independent Predictors of Adverse Outcomes in Young Adult Patients with Dilated Cardiomyopathy
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1 Department of Cardiology, Qingdao Municipal Key Laboratory of Hypertension (Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Medicine), The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, 266000 Qingdao, Shandong, China
2 Department of Cardiology, Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Interventional Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 200032 Shanghai, China
3 Department of Cardiology, Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital, 550002 Guiyang, Guizhou, China
*Correspondence: gejunhua198110@163.com (Junhua Ge); sherryyf1229@sina.com (Fan Yang)
These authors contributed equally.
Rev. Cardiovasc. Med. 2024, 25(5), 153; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.rcm2505153
Submitted: 8 October 2023 | Revised: 26 November 2023 | Accepted: 6 December 2023 | Published: 30 April 2024
(This article belongs to the Section Heart Diseases)
Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Background: The present study investigated the predictors of adverse outcomes in young adult patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) who underwent heart transplantation (HTx). Methods: Twenty-four young adult patients (aged 18–45 years) with DCM who underwent HTx in our hospital from January 2012 to December 2022 were included in this retrospective analysis. Pre- and post-HTx data were collected for echocardiography, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and uric acid (UA). Data collected at the time of DCM diagnosis were designated as baseline data. Post-HTx assessments were conducted at 1 week and 3, 6, 12, and 36 months post-HTx. The primary endpoint was defined as any adverse event, including left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <50% (n = 3), 50% increase in right or left ventricular diameter (n = 12), or death (n = 2). Patients were categorized into a non-adverse-event group (n = 12) or an adverse-event group (n = 12). Results: Baseline NT-proBNP (p = 0.014) and UA (p = 0.012) were significantly higher in the adverse-event group than in the non-adverse-event group. Baseline NT-proBNP >7390 pg/mL (relative risk (RR) = 7.412, p = 0.046), UA >542 µmol/L (RR = 8.838, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 1.541–50.694, p = 0.014), and sustained reduction in LVEF (3%) over a 2-year pharmacological treatment prior to HTx (RR = 3.252, p = 0.046) were significantly associated with an increased risk of adverse events post-HTx. Conclusions: In young adult DCM patients post-HTx, heightened baseline levels of NT-proBNP and UA levels and a sustained reduction in LVEF over time prior to undergoing an HTx are significantly associated with an increased risk of adverse events post-HTx. Future studies are needed to observe whether individualized monitoring strategies could reduce the incidence of adverse events following HTx in these patients.

Keywords
dilated cardiomyopathy
heart transplantation
NT-proBNP
uric acid
ventricular remodeling
young adults
Funding
NSFC 81200202/National Natural Science Foundation of China
81960083/National Natural Science Foundation of China
16-5-1-57-jch/Applied Basic Research Foundation of Qingdao Science and Technology Bureau
ZR 2023MH083/The National Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province
Figures
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