Heart transplantation in diabetic recipients: A decade review of 161 patients at Columbia Presbyterian

Objective: Diabetes is considered by some transplant centers to be a relative contraindication for cardiac transplantation because of concerns regarding decreased survival, as well as increased incidence of infection and transplant coronary artery disease. We evaluated our experience with diabetic recipients over the last 10 years. Methods: From January 1992 through June 2002, 881 patients underwent cardiac transplantation at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Of these, 161 (18.3%) were diabetic patients. Diabetic recipients were compared with a control group of 161 nondiabetic recipients matched for age, sex, cause of heart failure, United Network for Organ Sharing status, and immunosuppression era. Outcome measures included posttransplantation survival, incidence of infection, rejection, and transplant coronary artery disease. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in survival between diabetic and nondiabetic recipients, with actuarial survival at 1, 5, and 10 years of 89.3%, 66.9%, and 45.6%, respectively, for diabetic patients and 87.4%, 78.8%, and 59.1%, respectively, for nondiabetic patients (P = .168). There was no significant difference in freedom from infection, rejection, or transplant coronary artery disease between the groups. By using Cox proportional hazard models, development of infection, rejection, and transplant coronary artery disease were independent predictors of decreased survival (P < .001, P = .004, and P = .004, respectively). Conclusions: These results demonstrate similar short-term and long-term survivals, as well as similar risks for infection and transplant coronary artery disease, in diabetic and nondiabetic patients undergoing cardiac transplantation. The trend toward worse survival in the diabetic cohort, however, raises the possibility that if a greater number of diabetic patients were evaluated, a significant difference in survival might be observed, suggesting the need for a multicenter analysis to validate these outcomes.