Long-Term Changes in Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate in Left Ventricular Assist Device Recipients: A Longitudinal Joint Model Analysis

BACKGROUND: Advanced kidney disease is often a relative contraindication to left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation because of concerns for poor outcomes including worsening kidney disease. Data are lacking on long-term changes and sex-based differences in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), with published data limited by potential bias introduced by the competing risks of death and heart transplantation. METHODS AND RESULTS: We conducted a longitudinal analysis of 288 adults receiving durable continuous-flow LVADs from January 2010 to December 2017 at a single center. A joint model was constructed to evaluate change in eGFR over 2 years, the prespecified primary outcome, adjusted for the competing risks of death and heart transplantation. Median baseline eGFR was 60 mL/min per 1.73 m² (interquartile range 42–78). At 2 years, 74 patients died and 104 received a heart transplant. In unadjusted analysis, LVAD recipients had a modest initial increase in eGFR of ≈2 mL/min per 1.73 m² within the first 6 months after implantation, followed by a decrease in eGFR below baseline values at 1 and 2 years. Men experienced an eGFR decline of 5 to 10 mL/min per 1.73 m² over the first year which then stabilized, while women had an ≈5 mL/min per 1.73 m² increase in eGFR within the first 6 months followed by decline towards baseline eGFR levels (interaction P=0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Estimated GFR remains relatively stable in most patients following LVAD implantation. Larger studies are needed to investigate sex-based differences in eGFR and to evaluate eGFR trajectory and mortality in LVAD recipients with lower eGFR.