Clinical Predictors of Immunotolerance in Heart Transplantation

Abstract Background and Aim The drugs routinely administered to prevent rejection often cause lethal side effects. Tolerant patients, therefore, should be identified to minimize these problems. The aim of this analysis was to identify clinical variables that may be associated with tolerance. Methods We recruited 522 heart transplants (HT), excluding combined procedures, retransplantations, pediatric recipients, and subjects who died in the first year to obtain a cohort of 375 patients. Two groups were distinguished by the presence of echocardiographic, clinical, or pathological evidence of rejection in the first year (15 echocardiograms and 10 protocol biopsies per patient); 99 tolerant pat…