Primary heart dysfunction is greater with combined heart and lung compared to isolated heart procurement

Abstract Objective Combined heart and lungs (CHL) procurement differs from isolated heart (IH) procurement in several aspects, including lung recruitment, cannulation and preservation requirements. We aimed to investigate whether CHL vs IH procurement contributes to the development of primary graft dysfunction (PGD) after heart transplantation (HT). Methods Between 1999 and 2019, we assessed 175 HT patients at a single center. Patients were divided into IH (n=61) or CHL (n=114) procurement groups. Endpoints included PGD (defined according to the ISHLT consensus statement) and long-term survival. Results The incidence of PGD was significantly higher in CHL recipients compared to IH recipients (53.5% vs 16.4%, p Conclusions Combined procurement of heart and lungs is independently associated with an increased risk of PGD. Further prospective studies are needed to validate this hypothesis-generating study.