Emergency department presentation and care of heart and heart/lung transplant recipients.
OBJECTIVE
Heart and heart/lung transplants are accepted forms of therapy for patients with end-stage cardiac or pulmonary disease. These patients are likely to present postoperatively to the emergency department. To our knowledge, there have been no previous reports in the medical literature of the ED presentation of these patients.


METHODS
We conducted a retrospective review of the records of all patients who had received a heart or a heart/lung transplant at Stanford University Medical Center from 1988 through 1990 and who had at least one ED visit.


RESULTS
Between the time of operation and April 1, 1991, 131 ED visits were recorded. Fever was the single most common presenting complaint, for 48 (37%) of the visits. Difficulty in breathing (13%); gastrointestinal symptoms of nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea (10%); and chest pain (9%) were other common reasons for presentation.


CONCLUSIONS
The transplant patient, by virtue of requiring chronic immunosuppression, is susceptible to infection with a spectrum of opportunistic organisms. When fever or other symptoms suggest infection, appropriate cultures and aggressive diagnostic procedures (eg, lumbar puncture, bronchoscopy) should be performed.
Sternbach
G L
GL
Department of Surgery, Stanford University Medical Center, California.
Varon
J
J
Hunt
S A
SA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D016041:Heart-Lung Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies