Amiodarone Association With Severe Primary Graft Dysfunction and Vasoactive Inotropic Score After Heart...

The impact of amiodarone on severe primary graft dysfunction (PGD) and vasoactive inotropic scores (VISs) following heart transplantation (HT) is unclear.

We investigated these relationships through a retrospective study of 183 consecutive patients >18 years old who underwent isolated HT at our center from 2018-2023. Data for amiodarone use in the 6 months pre-HT were recorded (duration, cumulative dosage, use at HT, last dose pre-HT). Of the 69 patients in the amiodarone cohort, 37 were considered to be taking amiodarone at the time of transplant. The primary endpoint was severe PGD, as defined by the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) criteria. Post-HT VISs were calculated as defined by ISHLT.

Amiodarone was not associated with severe PGD (P = 0.67), and there was no difference in post-transplant VISs based on amiodarone exposure [20 (19.6) vs 16.3 (13.8); P = 0.122] (Fig. 1). This study supports similar hemodynamic profiles post-HT, regardless of amiodarone use.