The complication rate of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in a multicenter pediatric heart transplant population: A study of the international pediatric IVUS consortium.

Background: Our purpose was to determine the complication rate from intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in a large, multicenter cohort of pediatric heart transplant (PHT) patients.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all PHT who underwent IVUS at 5 institutions (2006-2014). Rates of major and minor complications were calculated. All adverse events (AE) were graded from 1 to 5 using a previously published AE severity scale.

Results: There were 1380 catheterizations in 505 patients and 32 AE (2.3%); 9 major (0.6%) and 23 AE (1.7%). The major AE attributed to IVUS were all coronary artery vasospasm (7). Major and minor AE rates directly related to IVUS were 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively. Minor AE possibly attributable to IVUS included excessive fluoroscopy (3) and transient ST segment changes (7). Of AE related to IVUS, only 3 were of moderate severity. The rest were ≤ minor in severity. There were no reports of coronary artery dissection or death.

Conclusion: Most AE during routine PHT coronary evaluation with IVUS were minor and not directly related to the use of IVUS. The number of coronary related AE was similar to a registry-based report of coronary angiography alone. Efforts to minimize IVUS-related complications should be focused on preventing coronary artery vasospasm.