Pediatric heart transplants.

Interest in pediatric heart transplantation has increased since the early 1980's in large part due to the improvement in immunosuppression. At the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa Civic Hospital/Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, six children between the ages of ten days and twelve years have received heart transplants between January 1988 and April 1990. Intensive care nursing staff synthesized their knowledge in areas of transplant and cardiovascular nursing to develop a plan of care for these children. The purpose of this article is to share the knowledge the nurses have gained through our clinical experience with these patients.