Coronary Collateral Circulation: A New Predictor of Mortality in Heart Transplant Recipients With Allograft Vasculopathy.

Unlabelled: Coronary collateral arteries (CCAs) are anastomotic channels between vessels; although beneficial in atherosclerosis, their role in heart transplantation (HT) recipients is underinvestigated. CCAs initially develop as microcirculation and cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV), promoting immune-dependent proliferative angiogenic response, and play a role in their development. In our hypothesis, ischemia induced by coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) triggers the development of CCAs, which are, in turn, less functional as affected by CAV themselves.

Coronary Flow Evaluation in Heart Transplant Patients Compared to Healthy Controls Documents the Superiority of Coronary Flow Velocity Reserve Companion as Diagnostic and Prognostic Tool.

Background: Distinct contributions by functional or structural alterations of coronary microcirculation in heart transplantation (HT) and their prognostic role have not been fully elucidated. We aimed to identify the mechanisms of coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) in HT and their prognostic implications.

Methods: 134 patients, surviving at least 5 years after HT, without evidence of angiographic vasculopathy or symptoms/signs of rejection were included.

Atrial fibrillation after orthotopic heart transplantatation: Pathophysiology and clinical impact.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a well-established post-cardiac surgery complication. Orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) represents a peculiar condition where surgical thoracic veins isolation and autonomic denervation occur. This study aims at investigating AF incidence in OHT in order to define its risk factors and to evaluate its prognostic impact.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the heart transplant population: a single-centre experience.

Objectives: Few anecdotal cases have been reported in the literature regarding heart transplant recipients and infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We report our experience with 6 patients hospitalized in Northern Italy during the outbreak.

Methods: Of the 396 living heart transplant recipients from 1985 to 2020 included in the study, 6 patients developed the novel 2019 coronavirus disease.

The Psychosocial Assessment of Transplant Candidates: Inter-Rater Reliability and Predictive Value of the Italian Stanford Integrated Psychosocial Assessment for Transplantation (SIPAT).

Background: The Stanford Integrated Psychosocial Assessment for Transplantation (SIPAT) is a comprehensive instrument developed to accurately assess the main pretransplant psychosocial risk factors that may impact transplant outcomes.

Objective: As neither established assessment procedures nor standardized tools designed to perform pretransplant psychosocial evaluation are currently available in Italy, the present study was designed to develop and preliminarily validate the Italian version of the SIPAT.

Methods: First, our team developed the Italian version of the SIPAT, following standard forward-back translation procedures.

MicroRNA signatures in cardiac biopsies and detection of allograft rejection.

Background: Identification of heart transplant (HTx) rejection currently relies on immunohistology and immunohistochemistry. We aimed to identify specific sets of microRNAs (miRNAs) to characterize acute cellular rejection (ACR), antibody-mediated rejection (pAMR), and mixed rejection (MR) in monitoring formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs) in HTx patients.

Methods: In this study we selected 33 adult HTx patients.

A comparison of quality of life and psychological distress in heart transplantation patients at adult and pediatric ages.

Background: The aim of the current study was to evaluate and compare the quality of life (QOL) and psychological status of adult patients who underwent heart transplant (HTx) at pediatric or adult ages.

Methods: The population consisted of two groups: patients who received HTx after 18 years old and pediatrics who received HTx between the age of 1 and 18 years. At the time of the study, all patients were over 18 years old.

Interventricular conduction disorders after orthotopic heart transplantation: risk factors and clinical relevance.

Background: Causes and significance of interventricular conduction disorders (IVCDs) after orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) are still unknown.

Methods: We retrospectively researched the presence of IVCDs in 240 patients who underwent bicaval OHT in three time periods: at day 1, after 1 year, and after 3 years from OHT. To evaluate the impact of the surgical technique, a control population treated with biatrial anastomosis was used.