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Background: This single-center, retrospective study evaluates the impact of hepatic steatosis on outcomes after continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation.Methods: Adults undergoing LVAD implantation between 2004 and 2018 with a preoperative noncontrast-enhanced chest and abdominal computed tomography scan were included in the study. Patients were stratified as with and without radiographic signs of hepatic steatosis. The primary outcome was survival, and secondary outcomes included rates of postimplant adverse events.Results: A total of 203 patients were included in the study. 27.6% (n = 56) had radiographic signs of hepatic steatosis. Hepatic steatosis group had a higher body mass index (30.1 vs. 27.0, p < .01), model for end-stage liver disease excluding international normalized ratio score (16.8 vs. 15.1, p = .05), and incidence of diabetes (53.6% vs. 35.4%, p = .02). The rates of postimplant adverse events, including bleeding, infection, reoperation, renal failure, hepatic dysfunction, stroke, and right ventricular failure, were similar between the groups (all, p > .05). Unadjusted survival was comparable between the groups at 30-days, 90-days, 1-year, and 2-year following LVAD implantation (all, p > .05). In addition, hepatic steatosis did not impact risk-adjusted overall mortality when modeled as a categorical variable (odds ratio [OR]: 0.72, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.46-1.13; p = .15).Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the presence of preoperative hepatic steatosis on imaging is not predictive of increased morbidity or mortality following LVAD implantation. Despite the association with obesity, metabolic diseases, and heart failure, hepatic steatosis on imaging appears to have a limited role in patient selection or prognostication in LVAD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate the predictive utility of preoperative right ventricular (RV) global longitudinal strain (GLS) and free wall strain (FWS) on outcomes following left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) implantation.Methods: Preoperative transthoracic echocardiograms were retrospectively reviewed in adults undergoing continuous-flow LVAD implantation between 2004 and 2018 at a single center. Patients undergoing pump exchange were excluded. RV GLS and FWS were calculated using commercially available software with the apical four-chamber view. The primary outcome was RV failure as defined by the Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support within 1-year post-LVAD insertion.Results: A total of 333 patients underwent continuous-flow LVAD implantation during the study period and 137 had adequate preoperative studies for RV strain evaluation. RV FWS was found to be a significant predictor of postoperative RV failure in univariate analysis (odds ratio [OR] = 1.12, p = .03), and this finding persisted after risk adjustment in multivariable analysis (OR = 1.14, p = .04). Using the optimal cutoff value of -5.64%, the c-index of FWS in predicting RV failure was 0.65. RV GLS was not associated with post-LVAD RV failure (OR = 1.07, p = .29). PCWP was the only additional significant predictor of RV failure using multivariable analysis (OR = 0.90, p = .02).Conclusion: Pre-implant RV FWS is predictive of RV failure in the first postoperative year after LVAD implantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]