Elfriede Pahl

..The purpose of this study was to establish the incidence of and risk factors for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in pediatric dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM)...

..It is meant to be comprehensive but not all-inclusive. Important articles published during 2005 and 2006 are summarized...

..Evaluation for heart transplantation is discussed, including full pretransplant assessment. ABO incompatible listing and HLA sensitization are discussed, and listing algorithms are outlined for different countries...

..CONCLUSIONS: CAV in children is more common than previously reported. Our data indicate that CAV is often associated with inflammation and that adventitial angiogenesis correlated with the severity of CAV...

..Survival after pediatric HTx has improved over time, but whether there has been an era-related improvement in the occurrence of allograft rejection is unknown...

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..We studied the incidence, anatomic distribution, and natural history of non-cameral CAFs (NC-CAFs) in a multicenter pediatric population...

..This study assessed quality of life (QOL) in adult survivors of pediatric heart transplantation who survived > or = 10 years after transplantation...

..We postulated that angiogenic inducers are upregulated post-transplantation and captopril ameliorates transplant coronary artery disease by suppressing the angiogenic activity of coronaries...

..The purpose of this study was to determine the angiographic incidence of TCAD, potential risk factors, and outcomes in a large pediatric cohort...

..Pravastatin therapy is effective in decreasing TC and LDL levels, seems to be safe, and is tolerated well. Further studies are necessary to determine whether pravastatin treatment is beneficial in decreasing CAV...

..Prospective, multicenter studies are needed to best utilize intravascular ultrasound in this patient population...

..BK viral nephropathy affects non-kidney transplant recipients, and a high index of suspicion is necessary for early diagnosis and management of this condition...

..The time from chemotherapy to ACM varies. Outcomes after transplantation are acceptable, and cancer recurrence is rare. Reconsideration of the 5-year disease-free wait period is warranted...

..Kidney function remained stable; subjects had no increase in mortality, rejection or PTLD. Multicenter studies using renal sparing protocols are needed to determine whether SRL should be used routinely in children...

..Although beta-blockers improve symptoms and survival in adults with heart failure, little is known about these medications in children and adolescents...

..In pediatric heart transplant patients with diarrhea, we recommend a heightened clinical awareness with aggressive treatment given the risk of progression to fulminant CD and toxic megacolon...

..The management and alternative treatments were briefly noted. We recommend an aggressive treatment for patients with suspected choledochal cyst after heart transplantation because of the increased potential for malignant transformation...

..In the future, novel immunosuppressive agents may further assist in the prevention as well as treatment of severe hemodynamic compromise due to rejection in pediatric heart transplant recipients...

..The medical complexities and ethical issues concerning a decision to proceed with orthotopic heart transplantation are discussed...

..The protocol was safe and implemented at relatively low cost. Further study is warranted to determine if the intervention can be extended to more children and whether benefits after such a short-term intervention can be sustained...

..However, none of these interventions have been shown to be effective in significantly prolonging graft survival and retransplantation remains the only reliable therapy for severe CAV...

..Issues surrounding the genetics of HLHS, developmental outcomes, and quality of life are addressed in addition to the many other considerations for caring for this group of complex patients...

..Conversely, most diagnostic procedures are associated with no detectable myocardial injury. When compared with adult studies, pediatric patients seem to be at higher risk for myocardial injury from interventional cardiac catheterization...

..Cardiac stem cells and cardiac progenitor cells represent one of the most promising types of cellular therapy for children with cardiac failure...

..CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that VEGF may play a role in the pathogenesis of acute allograft rejection and it may serve as a reliable serologic surveillance marker...

..The purpose of this study is to use the Pediatric Heart Transplant Study (PHTS) database to investigate the incidence of re-Tx and analyze the risk factors and outcomes after transplantation among children...