Pre-operative Evaluation of Kidney & Pancreas Transplant Patients

The Analysis of Data Collected During Angiography and Dobutamine Stress Contrast Echocardiograms in the Pre-Evaluation of Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Patients

Examine the clinical utility of the dobutamine stress contrast echoes and angiograms obtained routinely in the evaluation of patients prior to kidney or pancreas transplantation.

Although there is an increasing quantity of data demonstrating the value of stress echo in risk stratifying patients for cardiac risk prior to major non-cardiac surgery, the current clinical practice utilized for assessing patients being evaluated for kidney or pancreas transplantation is both a stress echocardiogram and a coronary angiogram. This gap in opinion appears to be a concern on the part of both nephrologists, endocrinologists, and surgeons that the stress echocardiogram may miss significant angiographic disease that could result in major post-operative complications in this high-risk subgroup of patients (unstable angina, non-fatal infarction, or death).

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients who are being evaluated for a kidney and or pancreas transplant and scheduled for a dobutamine stress echocardiogram and a coronary angiogram will be eligible to participate

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with unstable angina at the time of their evaluation, or who have a severe underlying cardiomyopathy or valve disease will be excluded.