Efficacy and Safety of Echocardiographic Guidance for Post-Transplant Endomyocardial Biopsy Sampling

Background: Endomyocardial biopsy is a very useful procedure to assess acute rejection in transplant patients, but it can causeseveral complications.Objective: The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of echocardiography as a guide for endomyocardialbiopsy sampling.Methods: A retrospective analysis of transplant patients undergoing endomyocardial biopsies was carried out between November2004 and November 2016. Demographic data and complications were analyzed with descriptive statistics.Results: A total of 200 patients underwent 2,665 endomyocardial biopsies, with an average of 13 procedures per patient. Complicationsoccurred in 5 patients: 2 pneumothorax (0.1%) and 3 transient alterations in the electrocardiogram (0.1%), and vascular accesscould not be achieved in 25 patients (0.9%). No patient died during the procedure or required emergency surgery to treat thecomplications.Conclusion: Endomyocardial biopsy guided by echocardiography is a safe procedure with a low rate of complications.