Amiodarone Use Prior to Cardiac Transplant Impacts Early Post-Transplant Survival

It remains unclear if use of amiodarone pre-cardiac transplantation impacts early post-transplant survival.

We selected all patients undergoing heart transplant from 2004 to 2006 with available information using the United Network for Organ Sharing database (n = 4057). Multivariable Cox models compared the risk of death within 30 days post-transplant in patients who were taking amiodarone at the time of transplant listing (n = 1227) to those who were not (n = 2830).

Mean age was 52 (± 12) years, and 23% were women. Patients who died within 30 days (n = 168) were older; had higher panel reactive antibody levels, higher bilirubin levels, and higher prevalence of prior cardiac surgery; were often at status 1B; and had higher use of amiodarone at listing compared to those who survived (5.3% versus 3.6%; p = 0.02). Cause of death was unknown in 49% and was reported as graft failure in 43% of cases. In multivariable Cox models, patients on amiodarone at the time of listing had 1.56-fold higher risk of post-transplant death within 30 days (95% confidence intervals 1.08-2.27) compared to patients who were not on amiodarone at listing (C-statistic 0.70).

In conclusion, patients who reported taking amiodarone at the time of listing for transplant had a higher risk of death within 30 days post-transplant.