Left-ventricular noncompaction in a pediatric population: predictors of survival

Left-ventricular noncompaction (LVNC) is an echocardiographic finding of increasing frequency in pediatrics; however, predictors of outcomes have been difficult to identify. We conducted a retrospective review of pediatric patients at the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York from January of 1993 to September of 2009 to identify predictors of the primary outcome of death or heart transplantation. LVNC was identified in 50 patients, 34 of them < 1 year of age. Death or transplantation occurred in 26 patients, with a median survival of 1.17 years after presentation. Patients surviving 1 year after presentation had 75% conditional survival, and patients surviving 2 years after presentation had 92% conditional survival. Hemodynamic instability, poor ventricular function, and LV dilatation were each independent predictors of poor outcome. Of the 21 patients who presented with hemodynamic instability, 17 died or underwent transplantation at a median of 0.08 years after presentation. In conclusion, LVNC is recognized more in younger patients; however, age is not a predictor of outcome. Patients who present with hemodynamic instability and poor ventricular function have decreased transplant-free survival, and most poor outcomes occur within the first year after presentation. Therefore, early listing for transplant may lead to better outcomes in this population.