Analysis of the risk factors for allograft vasculopathy in asymptomatic patients after cardiac transplantation.
OBJECTIVE
To study the influence of immune and nonimmune risk factors on the development of allograft vasculopathy after cardiac transplantation.


METHODS
We studied 39 patients with a mean age of 46+/-12 years. The following variables were analyzed: weight (kg), body mass index (kg/m2), donor's age and sex, rejection episodes in the first and second years after transplantation, systolic and diastolic blood pressures (mmHg), total cholesterol and fractions (mg/dL), triglycerides (mg/dL), diabetes, and cytomegalovirus infection. The presence of allograft vasculopathy was established through coronary angiography.


RESULTS
Allograft vasculopathy was observed in 15 (38%) patients. No statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups in regard to hypertension, cytomegalovirus infection, diabetes, donor's sex and age, rejection episodes in the first and second years after transplantation, and cholesterol levels. We observed a tendency toward higher levels of triglycerides in the group with disease. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed statistically significant differences between the two groups when we analyzed the body mass index (24.53+/-4.3 versus 28.11+/-4.6; p=0.019).


CONCLUSIONS
Body mass index was an important marker of allograft vasculopathy in the population studied.
Bacal
F
F
Instituto do Coração, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Veiga
V C
VC
Fiorelli
A I
AI
Bellotti
G
G
Bocchi
E A
EA
Stolf
N A
NA
Ramires
J A
JA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002932:Cineangiography; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors