Abstract
A 19-year-old man with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy developed cardiogenic shock. A HeartMate left ventricular assist device was inserted as an emergency procedure, but removed after 189 days due to sepsis related to the device. Intravenous milrinone was administered because of recurrence of heart failure, and as a result the symptoms disappeared and the urinary output increased. Echocardiography showed improvement in the left ventricular ejection fraction. Subsequently, the patient successfully underwent heart transplantation. Milrinone was effective as a pharmacological bridge to heart transplantation in this patient with terminal and critical heart failure after removal of a left ventricular assist device.
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Koyanagi, T., Kyo, S., Ouchi, H. et al. Clinical experience of milrinone as a pharmacological bridge to heart transplantation. Jpn J Thorac Caridovasc Surg 48, 460–463 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03218176
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03218176