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Original Articles: Adult Cardiac

Invited Commentary

Division of Cardiac Surgery, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Blalock 618, 600 N. Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21287

(Email: jconte@csurg.jhmi.jhu.edu).

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

Kimball and associates [1] report on impairment in cellular immunity among patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). The authors appropriately note in their work that infections are the Achilles heel of LVADs.

There are multiple reasons for this to occur. Aside from the fact that humans were not intended to have a power cable exiting their bodies removing the essential barrier function of the skin and providing a portal of entry for microorganisms, cellular immunity is impaired after LVAD implantation. Many authors have previously noted this. These authors asked whether this impairment of cellular immunity lasts longer than 6 months and compared a variety of in vitro immune function . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Related Article

Cellular Immunity Impaired Among Patients on Left Ventricular Assist Device for 6 Months

Pam M. Kimball, Maureen Flattery, Felecia McDougan, and Vigneshwar Kasirajan
Ann. Thorac. Surg. 2008 85: 1656-1661. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]