GATED SPECT IN PATIENTS WITH BIOPSY-NEGATIVE CARDIAC TRANSPLANT REJECTION

Abstract

Humoral rejection of the cardiac allograft is still a challenging problem associated with high incidence of graft loss and patient mortality. These episodes of rejection are often more severe, and more difficult to treat, than classical acute cellular rejection. Hemodynamic compromise, in the absence of acute cellular rejection, called biopsy-negative rejection occurs in 10 to 20% of cardiac allograft recipients. The assessment of hemodynamic compromise can provide functional data in transplant patients that is complementary to myocardial biopsies if the biopsy can miss significant rejection. We present three cases of the biopsy-negative rejection. All patients have studied with gated SPECT phase analysis.

Keywords

• cardiac transplantation
• humoral rejection
• non-cellular rejection
• biopsy-negative rejection
• gated spect