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BackgroundAllograft pathologies, such as valvular, coronary artery, or aortic disease, may occur early and late after cardiac transplantation. Cardiac surgery after heart transplantation (CASH) may be an option to improve quality of life and allograft function and prolong survival. Experience with CASH, however, has been limited to single-center reports.MethodsWe performed a retrospective, multicenter study of heart transplant recipients with CASH between January 1984 and December 2020. In this study, 60 high-volume cardiac transplant centers were invited to participate.ResultsData were available from 19 centers in North America (n = 7), South America (n = 1), and Europe (n = 11), with a total of 110 patients. A median of 3 (IQR 2–8.5) operations was reported by each center; five centers included ≥ 10 patients. Indications for CASH were valvular disease (n = 62), coronary artery disease (CAD) (n = 16), constrictive pericarditis (n = 17), aortic pathology (n = 13), and myxoma (n = 2). The median age at CASH was 57.7 (47.8–63.1) years, with a median time from transplant to CASH of 4.4 (1–9.6) years. Reoperation within the first year after transplantation was performed in 24.5%. In-hospital mortality was 9.1% (n = 10). 1-year survival was 86.2% and median follow-up was 8.2 (3.8–14.6) years. The most frequent perioperative complications were acute kidney injury and bleeding revision in 18 and 9.1%, respectively.ConclusionCardiac surgery after heart transplantation has low in-hospital mortality and postoperative complications in carefully selected patients. The incidence and type of CASH vary between international centers. Risk factors for the worse outcome are higher European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE II) and postoperative renal failure.

Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) provide multidisciplinary care to critically ill children and their families. Grief is present throughout the trajectory of illness and can peak around the time of death or non-death losses. The objective of this study was to assess how PICUs around the world implement grief and bereavement care (GBC) as part of an integrated model of care. This is a multicenter cross-sectional, prospective survey study. Questionnaires with multiple-choice and open-ended questions focusing on unit infrastructure, personnel, policies, limited patient data, and practices related to GBC for families and health care professionals (HCPs) were completed by on-site researchers, who were HCPs on the direct care of patients. PICU fulfillment of GBC goals was evaluated using a custom scoring based on indicators developed by the Initiative for Pediatric Palliative Care (IPPC). We compared average total and individual items fulfillment scores according to the respective country's World Bank income. Patient characteristics and details of unit infrastructure were also evaluated as potential predictors of total GBC fulfillment scores. Statistical analysis included multilevel generalized linear models (GLM) with a Gaussian distribution adjusted by child age/gender and clustering by center, using high income countries (HICs) as the comparative reference. Additionally, we applied principals of content analysis to analyze and summarize open-ended answers to contextualize qualitative data. The study included 34 PICUs from 18 countries: high-income countries (HICs): 32.4%, upper middle-income countries (UMICs): 44.1%, low middle-income and low-income countries (LMI/LICs): 23.5%. All groups reported some compliance with GBC goals; no group reported perfect fulfillment. We found statistically significant differences in GBC fulfillment scores between HICs and UMICs (specifically, HCP grief support), and between HICs and LMICs (specifically, family grief support and HCP grief support). PICUs world-wide provide some GBC, independent of income, but barriers include lack of financial support, time, and training, overall unit culture, presence of a palliative care consultation service, and varying cultural perceptions of child death. Disparities in GBC for families and HCPs exist and were related to the native countries' income level. Identifying barriers to support families and HCPs, can lead to opportunities of improving GBC in PICUs world-wide.

The adequate assessment and management of pain remains a challenging task in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Our goal is to describe how pain is assessed and managed in PICUs around the world and to examine how human and material resources impact achievement of this goal. An international multicenter cross-sectional observational study was designed with the participation of 34 PICUs located in urban, suburban, and rural areas of 18 countries. We evaluated how PICUs around the world assessed and managed pain according to the Initiative for Pediatric Palliative Care recommendations, and how human and material resources impacted achievement of this goal. Data was collected for this study from 2016 to 2018 using questionnaires completed by medical doctors and nurses. In this paper, we focus on the indicators related to how pain is managed and assessed. The average achievement of the goal of pain relief across all centers was 72.2% (SD: 21.1). We found a statistically significant trend of more effective pain management scores, routine assessment, proper documentation, and involvement of pain management experts by increasing country income. While there are efforts being made worldwide to improve the knowledge in pain assessment and management, there is a lack of resources to do so appropriately in low-middle-income countries. There is a mismatch between the existing guidelines and policies, which are mainly designed in high income countries, and the resources available in lower resourced environments.

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy-related inflammation (CAA-ri) is an immune-mediated disorder of the central nervous system characterized by an inflammatory response to amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition within cerebral blood vessel walls. Immunosuppressive therapy is the mainstay of treatment. We present a case of CAA-ri in a subject already on immunosuppressive therapy after orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT). A 57-year-old man 8 months post-OHT for sarcoid cardiomyopathy developed headaches and staring spells while hospitalized for disseminated mycobacterial infection. His brain MRI revealed bi-hemispheric T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery white matter hyperintensities and widespread microhemorrhages. Two weeks later, he developed gait ataxia and alterations in mental status, and repeat brain MRI showed more extensive confluent white matter hyperintensities. Leptomeningeal and cortex biopsy revealed changes consistent with amyloid angiitis, with perivascular and intramural histiocyte and lymphocyte collections. Mass spectroscopy confirmed Aβ deposition. Notably, the patient was on immunosuppression with daily 5 mg oral prednisone and tacrolimus before biopsy. After high-dose intravenous followed by oral corticosteroids, he demonstrated significant clinical and radiographic improvement. No relapse was noted despite the relatively rapid tapering of the prednisone therapy over 3 months, as mandated by his systemic infection. Despite the lack of a standard treatment protocol for CAA-ri, case series have reinforced the benefit of prolonged courses of glucocorticoids as single agent or in combination with other immunomodulatory agents. Hence, management of CAA-ri in patients with disseminated mycobacterial infections or OHT is challenging. Our case is unique, as review of existing literature has not revealed any similar cases of patients on chronic immunosuppression at the time of CAA-ri diagnosis, which one would expect to protect against this disorder. In addition, CAA-ri in association with cardiopulmonary sarcoidosis was not previously reported; however, a common immunopathogenic mechanism may exist.