Incremental reduction in the incidence of stroke in children supported with the Berlin EXCOR ventricular assist device.

Background: Cerebrovascular events (CVEs) are common among children supported with the Berlin EXCOR (Berlin Heart GmbH, Berlin, Germany) ventricular assist device (VAD). Given the high incidence of CVEs associated with this device, we sought to describe our institutional experience in incrementally reducing CVEs in children supported with the Berlin EXCOR VAD.

Methods: We collected pertinent data on 39 consecutive patients who underwent Berlin EXCOR VAD implantation at a single center. Frequency of CVEs was described in risk per implantation, per day, and in reference to the time of therapeutic anticoagulation. Risk factors were analyzed for association with CVEs.

Results: Of the initial 39 Berlin EXCOR VAD implantations, 16 CVEs occurred in 12 patients. The incidence of CVEs decreased with institutional experience per patient (R(2) = 0.6909, p = 0.007) and per patient-day (R(2) = 0.8051, p = 0.002). CVEs occurred more frequently before therapeutic anticoagulation targets were achieved (4.1%/day) compared with after therapeutic anticoagulation targets were achieved (0.9%/day; p = 0.044).

Conclusions: Incidence of CVEs decreased with institutional experience. The risk of CVE is highest in the immediate postoperative period before therapeutic anticoagulation is achieved. Further studies are warranted in pediatric patients supported with the Berlin EXCOR VAD to confirm our findings in a larger cohort.