Pediatric cardiac waitlist mortality-Still too high

Pediatr Transplant. 2020 May;24(3):e13671. doi: 10.1111/petr.13671. Epub 2020 Mar 21.

Abstract

Cardiac transplantation for children with end-stage cardiac disease with no other medical or surgical options is now standard. The number of children in need of cardiac transplant continues to exceed the number of donors considered "acceptable." Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand which recipients are in greatest need of transplant before becoming "too ill" and which "marginal" donors are acceptable in order to reduce waitlist mortality. This article reviewed primarily pediatric studies reported over the last 15 years on waitlist mortality around the world for the various subgroups of children awaiting heart transplant and discusses strategies to try to reduce the cardiac waitlist mortality.

Keywords: children; heart transplant; mortality; waitlist.

Publication types

  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Donor Selection / methods*
  • Donor Selection / standards
  • Global Health / statistics & numerical data
  • Heart Failure / mortality*
  • Heart Failure / surgery
  • Heart Transplantation*
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Waiting Lists / mortality*