Two‐and‐a‐half year experience with heart transplantation in Norway

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Abstract
We report 2½ yr experience with orthotopic heart transplantation in Norway (population 4.1 million). All donor hearts have been procured within the country. Twenty‐five patients (6 females and 19 males), mean age 44 yr (range 19–56) have been treated with 26 grafts. In 1985, 11 patients were transplanted, giving a transplantation rate of 3‐million‐yr. In the first 9 patients the immunosuppressive regimen consisted of cyclosporine A and prednisolone, and in the last 16 patients azathioprine was added (triple medication). There was no operative mortality, but in the first group 4 patients died from other causes: 3 acute irreversible rejections and 1 toxoplasma myocarditis. In the last group 1 died due to early graft failure. Twenty patients are alive and clinically in good condition. Since our main problem has been rejection, it is concluded that careful clinical supervision and liberal indications for myocardial biopsy is decisive for the prognosis.

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