Original articleGeneral thoracicImpact of High-Priority Allocation on Lung and Heart-Lung Transplantation for Pulmonary Hypertension

BackgroundSince 2006 and 2007, patients in France with severe pulmonary hypertension (PH) who are at imminent risk of death, despite optimal treatment in the intensive care unit, are placed on a high-priority list (HPL) for heart-lung transplantation (HLT) or double-lung transplantation (DLT). We assessed the effect of this approach on the waiting list and outcomes after transplantation.MethodsWe conducted a single-center, retrospective, before-and-after study of consecutive patients with severe group 1, 1', or 4 PH listed for DLT or HLT between 2000 and 2013 (ie, 6 years before and 6 years after HPL implementation).ResultsWe included 234 patients. HPL implementation resulted in a significant decrease of the cumulative incidence of death on the waiting list at 1 and 2 years (p < 0.0001). The cumulative incidence of transplantation increased significantly from 48% to 76% after 2 years (p < 0.0001). Overall survival after transplantation was not significantly different between the pre-HPL and post-HPL era. In the HPL period, patients on the regular list who received a transplant had a nonsignificant trend toward improved overall survival compared with those on the HPL who received a transplant (at 1, 2, 3, and 5 years: 85%, 77%, 72%, and 72% vs 67%, 61%, 58%, and 50%; p = 0.053). Finally, survival after listing improved significantly after HPL implementation (at 1, 2, 3, and 5 years: 69%, 62%, 58%, and 54% vs 54%, 45%, 34%, and 26% before the HPL; p < 0.001).ConclusionsHPL implementation was followed by higher survival of PH patients after registration on the DLT or HLT waiting list and by a higher cumulative incidence of transplantation among waiting-list patients.