Effect of receiving a heart transplant

doi:10.1136/bmj.322.7295.1179/a

BMJ 2001;322:1179 ( 12 May )

Letters

Effect of receiving a heart transplant

Surely it is too late for a randomised controlled trial

Peak exercise oxygen consumption is important predictor of outcome

Research target should be stratification procedures and mechanisms of death

Authors' reply

Surely it is too late for a randomised controlled trial

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR $---$ Rigorous evaluation of surgical procedures is important. The comparative outcomes and clinical profiles in transplantation(COCPIT) study, reported by Deng et al, called for a randomisedcontrolled trial of heart transplantation based on comparing postoperativeand waiting list survival in a single year in Germany.¹

The German registry's 12 month postoperative survival rate of 71% was considerably lower that that of patients at PapworthHospital in Cambridge who have undergone transplantation since1990 (83%) and that reported by the International Society forHeart and Lung Transplantation (82% for patients who have undergonetransplantation since 1995).² This brings into question thegeneralisability of the results beyond Germany. Moreover, 12 monthfollow up is inadequate, as risks after transplantation are greatestin the first year. The risks from end stage heart failure arecumulative.

Deng et al claim that some patients listed to receive transplants are not sick enough to derive survival benefit . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike

Complore

Connotea

Del.icio.us Add to Digg

Digg

StumbleUpon Add to Technorati

Technorati What's this?

Relevant Article

Effect of receiving a heart transplant: analysis of a national cohort entered on to a waiting list, stratified by heart failure severity • Commentary: Time for a controlled trial?: Mario C Deng, Johan M J De Meester, Jacqueline M A Smits, Joachim Heinecke, Hans H Scheld, Tom Treasure, and Andrew Murday
BMJ 2000 321: 540-545. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]