Perioperative cardiovascular outcomes of non-cardiac solid organ transplant surgery

Perioperative cardiovascular outcomes of transplant surgery are not well defined. We evaluated the incidence of perioperative major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) after non-cardiac transplant surgery from a large database of hospital admissions from the United States.

Patients ≥18 years of age undergoing non-cardiac solid organ transplant surgery from 2004 to 2014 were identified from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project’s National Inpatient Sample. The primary outcome was perioperative MACCE, defined as in-hospital death, myocardial infarction (MI), or ischaemic stroke.

A total of 49 978 hospitalizations for transplant surgery were identified. Renal (67.3%), liver (21.6%), and lung (6.7%) transplantation were the most common surgeries. Perioperative MACCE occurred in 1539 transplant surgeries (3.1%). Recipients of organ transplantation were more likely to have perioperative MACCE in comparison to non-transplant, non-cardiac surgery [3.1% vs. 2.0%, P < 0.001; adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.29, 95% Confidence interval [CI] 1.22–1.36]. Major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events after transplant surgery were driven by increased mortality (1.7% vs. 1.1%, P < 0.001; aOR 1.15, 95% CI 1.07–1.23) and MI (1.2% vs. 0.6%, P < 0.001; aOR 2.26, 95% CI 2.09–2.46) vs. non-transplant surgery, with lower rates of stroke (0.3% vs. 0.5%, P < 0.001; aOR 0.56, 95% CI 0.47–0.65). Among patients hospitalized for renal, liver, and lung transplantation, MACCE occurred in 1.7%, 5.6%, and 7.5%, respectively, with no difference in the frequency of MI by surgery type.

Cardiovascular outcomes of transplant surgery vary by surgical subtype and are largely driven by increased perioperative death and MI. Efforts to reduce cardiovascular risks of non-cardiac organ transplant surgery are necessary.