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Perspectives of Heart Transplant Patients and Providers on Acute Rejection Surveillance: A Mixed‐Methods Study

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Endomyocardial biopsies (EMB) remain the reference standard for detection of acute rejection in heart transplant (HTx) patients. Recent studies evaluating novel noninvasive tests have sparked a renewed discussion in the HTx community about revising acute rejection surveillance policies. However, patient and provider perspectives remain underexplored. This single-center study examined both HTx patient and provider perspectives on replacing EMBs earlier with noninvasive blood tests. METHODS: We performed semi-structured interviews with 28 HTx patients to explore their perspectives on replacement of EMBs with donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) early post-HTx. We subsequently conducted a survey of 118 HTx patients using self-administered online questionnaires. We also performed semi-structured interviews with 18 HTx providers to explore their perspectives. Thematic analysis was performed on interview and open-ended survey responses using deductive and inductive approaches. Patient quantitative survey responses were analyzed with descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Our study identified three key themes: patient anxiety related to EMBs, importance of patient-provider communication, and strong interpersonal trust in providers by HTx patients. Although 78.4% of patients experienced EMB-related anxiety, they prioritized testing accuracy to ensure "the health of their new heart." Consequently, patients favored the most accurate testing protocol and trusted providers to make this decision (91.1%). HTx providers raised concerns about the accuracy and safety of noninvasive surveillance testing for high-risk patients. CONCLUSION: HTx patients trusted their providers to determine the most accurate acute rejection surveillance policy. Additionally, our study provides important patient-centered priorities to guide the implementation of early noninvasive testing into clinical practice. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT06414603.

Source: Clinical Transplantation

DOI: 10.1111/ctr.70438