An implantable heart pump may enable children to remain at home while awaiting a transplant

When children with heart failure wait for a transplant, they typically stay in the hospital for months or years, connected to bulky blood pumping devices. But with an implantable heart pump, it may be possible to stay at home.

Regulators in the United States and Europe have approved one device, the Berlin Heart, for long-term use in young children awaiting heart transplants. However, this life-saving tool has its limits. christopher almond at Stanford University in California. It is connected to the heart through two large tubes and restricts the child's movements. Berlinhart also wants children to remain in the hospital so they can be monitored for risks such as stroke or infections.

Almond and his colleagues tested their new device, Jarvik 2015, on seven children with heart failure between the ages of 7 months and 7 years. It can be implanted in the heart and connects to an external battery pack worn on the waist. This device works by pumping blood from the left ventricle of the heart into the main blood vessels that carry blood throughout the body.

The researchers implanted the pumps during open-heart surgery and then observed the children while they were hospitalized. On average, children used it for 115 days. All seven survived, and five received heart transplants. Of the two remaining hers, one recovered spontaneously, but the other one also supported right ventricular function after the right side of the heart failed, unrelated to Jarvik 2015 I switched to a device that does. One child experienced a severe stroke, a known risk for cardiac assist devices.

Most children experienced no pain using the device and were able to participate in most activities. “The child actually has a little more freedom to move around because there's less material outside of the body and he's not tied down to a big pump,” says Almond.

Larger trials should investigate whether using a pump would allow children to wait at home for a transplant, Almond said. Children in the United States typically wait three to 12 months for a transplant, while children in Europe may wait up to two years.

“Berlin Heart has been very successful, bridging patients to transplants, and we've become quite an expert in its use,” he says. elizabeth bloom At Boston Children's Hospital. “[But] We hope that new devices will allow children to be discharged home just like adults. ”