Perioperative cardiovascular outcomes of non-cardiac solid organ transplant surgery

Background: Perioperative cardiovascular outcomes of transplant surgery are not well defined. We evaluated the incidence of perioperative major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) after non-cardiac transplant surgery from a large database of hospital admissions from the United States. Methods: Patients ≥18 years of age undergoing non-cardiac solid organ transplant surgery from 2004 to 2014 were identified from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's National Inpatient Sample. The primary outcome was perioperative MACCE, defined as in-hospital death, myocardial infarction (MI), or ischaemic stroke. Results: A total of 49 978 hospitalizations for transplant surgery were identified. Renal (67.3%), liver (21.6%), and lung (6.7%) transplantation were the most common surgeries. Perioperative MACCE occurred in 1539 transplant surgeries (3.1%). Recipients of organ transplantation were more likely to have perioperative MACCE in comparison to non-transplant, non-cardiac surgery [3.1% vs. 2.0%, P < 0.001; adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.29, 95% Confidence interval [CI] 1.22-1.36]. Major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events after transplant surgery were driven by increased mortality (1.7% vs. 1.1%, P < 0.001; aOR 1.15, 95% CI 1.07-1.23) and MI (1.2% vs. 0.6%, P < 0.001; aOR 2.26, 95% CI 2.09-2.46) vs. non-transplant surgery, with lower rates of stroke (0.3% vs. 0.5%, P < 0.001; aOR 0.56, 95% CI 0.47-0.65). Among patients hospitalized for renal, liver, and lung transplantation, MACCE occurred in 1.7%, 5.6%, and 7.5%, respectively, with no difference in the frequency of MI by surgery type. Conclusions: Cardiovascular outcomes of transplant surgery vary by surgical subtype and are largely driven by increased perioperative death and MI. Efforts to reduce cardiovascular risks of non-cardiac organ transplant surgery are necessary.