title: Impact of identification and treatment of depression in heart transplant patients.
abstract: Background. The effects of clinical depression after orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) are relatively unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of depression on outcomes after OHT. Methods. We performed a single center retrospective review of 102 consecutive patients who underwent OHT at Northwestern Memorial Hospital from June 2005 to October 2009. The diagnosis of depression was obtained from attending physician documentation. The primary endpoints were all-cause mortality (ACM), hospitalizations, and rejection. Results. Of 102 OHT patients, 26 (26%) had depression. Depressed patients were similar in age to nondepressed patients (57.6 years versus 56.9, P = 0.79). There was no statistical difference in survival between groups at 5 years after OHT (P = 0.94). All-cause hospitalizations were higher in depressed versus nondepressed patients (4.3 versus 2.6 hospitalizations P = 0.05). There were no significant differences in hospitalizations between the two groups for the following complications: cardiac (heart failure, edema, arrhythmias, and acute rejection) and infections. There was no significant difference in episodes of 2R and 3R rejection. Conclusion. Early identification and treatment of depression in OHT patients result in outcomes similar to nondepressed patients.
authors.affiliation: Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Feinberg School of Medicine Department of Medicine, 251 E Huron, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60616, USA.
authors.forename: Ike
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2702-200X
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Okwuosa
authors.affiliation: Feinberg School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60616, USA.
authors.forename: Dara
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pumphrey
authors.affiliation: Feinberg School of Medicine Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60616, USA.
authors.forename: Jyothy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Puthumana
authors.affiliation: Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Feinberg School of Medicine Department of Medicine, 251 E Huron, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60616, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel-Maria
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Feinberg School of Medicine Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60616, USA.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cotts