Table 1.
Recipient characteristics at the time of transplant before and after implementation of the new heart allocation policy
| Pre-policy (n = 2594) | Post-policy (n = 2761) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 1909 (73.6) | 1978 (71.6) | 0.116 |
| Age | 57 (46–63) | 56 (45–63) | 0.128 |
| BMI | 27.5 (24–31.5) | 27.5 (23.9–31.4) | 0.448 |
| Race/Ethnicity | |||
| White | 1661 (64) | 1780 (64.5) | 0.782 |
| Black | 595 (22.9) | 605 (21.9) | |
| Hispanic | 223 (8.6) | 245 (8.9) | |
| Asian | 90 (3.5) | 108 (3.9) | |
| Other | 25 (1) | 23 (0.8) | |
| Recipient history | |||
| Diabetes | 732 (28.2) | 745 (27) | 0.327 |
| Malignancy | 254 (9.8) | 247 (8.9) | 0.31 |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 161 (6.2) | 187 (6.8) | 0.435 |
| Heart failure etiology | |||
| Nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy | 1489 (57.4) | 1543 (55.9) | <0.001 |
| Ischemic cardiomyopathy | 690 (26.6) | 707 (25.6) | |
| Congenital heart disease | 59 (2.3) | 104 (3.8) | |
| Restrictive cardiomyopathy | 79 (3) | 123 (4.5) | |
| Valvular heart disease | 31 (1.2) | 21 (0.8) | |
| Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy | 69 (2.7) | 93 (3.4) | |
| Failure of primary transplant | 50 (1.9) | 73 (2.6) | |
| Other etiology | 127 (4.9) | 97 (3.5) | |
| Total bilirubin (mg/dL) | 0.7 (0.4–1) | 0.7 (0.5–1.1) | 0.082 |
| Serum creatinine (mg/dL) | 1.16 (0.95–1.42) | 1.13 (0.9–1.4) | 0.016 |
| Pretransplant hospitalization status | |||
| In ICU | 743 (28.6) | 1434 (51.9) | <0.001 |
| Hospitalized, not in ICU | 381 (14.7) | 397 (14.4) | |
| Not hospitalized | 1470 (56.7) | 930 (33.7) | |
| Blood type | |||
| A | 1051 (40.5) | 1121 (40.6) | 0.68 |
| B | 370 (14.3) | 422 (15.3) | |
| AB | 135 (5.2) | 143 (5.2) | |
| O | 1037 (40) | 1068 (38.7) | |
| Pretransplant medical therapy | |||
| IV antibiotics in 2 weeks before transplant | 227 (8.8) | 288 (10.4) | 0.042 |
| High dose IV inotropes | 414 (16) | 170 (6.2) | <0.001 |
| Low dose IV inotropes | 274 (10.6) | 119 (4.3) | <0.001 |
| Mechanical ventilation | 23 (0.9) | 72 (2.6) | <0.001 |
| IABP | 216 (8.3) | 783 (28.4) | <0.001 |
| ECMO | 25 (1) | 152 (5.5) | <0.001 |
| Durable LVAD | 1276 (49.2) | 891 (32.3) | <0.001 |
| Other MCS | 71 (2.7) | 178 (6.4) | <0.001 |
| No MCS | 1022 (39.4) | 854 (30.9) | <0.001 |
| Days on wait list | 112 (30–324) | 39 (10–195) | <0.001 |
| Wait-list status at transplant | |||
| Old Status 1A | 1706 (65.8) | – | – |
| Old Status 1B | 825 (31.8) | – | |
| Old Status 2 | 63 (2.4) | – | |
| New Status 1 | – | 244 (8.8) | |
| New Status 2 | – | 1251 (45.3) | |
| New Status 3 | – | 636 (23) | |
| New Status 4 | – | 506 (18.3) | |
| New Status 6 | – | 122 (4.4) | |
a
Values are n (%) or median (IQR)
b
BMI = body mass index; ICU = intensive care unit; IV = intravenous; IABP = intra-aortic balloon pump; ECMO = extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; LVAD = left ventricular assist device; MCS = mechanical circulatory support