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Table 1 Inclusion and exclusion criteria

From: Rationale and design of a prospective, randomised study of retrograde application of bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) through coronary sinus in patients with congestive heart failure of ischemic etiology (the RETRO study)

Inclusion criteria:

 • Patients with chronic heart failure and left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40% with coronary artery disease and with symptoms of heart failure in the NYHA class 3 on standard heart failure therapy for 3 months and in a stabilised state for at least 1 month,

 • Age 40–80 years

 • Informed, written consent by the patient

 • Ability to comply fully with the study protocol

 • Negative pregnancy test (and effective contraception) in women with childbearing potential

Exclusion criteria:

 • Previous bone marrow disease (especially myelodysplastic syndrome or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma)

 • Repeated acute coronary syndrome <1 month

 • CRT device with LV lead in CS

 • Active infection or ATB treatment <1 week

 • Previous malignant ventricular arrhythmias without ICD implantation

 • Anemia (HTC ≤ 28%), leukocytosis (≥14.000/mm3) or thrombocytopenia (≤50.000/mm3)

 • Previous bleeding diathesis

 • Need for hematopoietic growth factor treatment (e.g. erythropoetin, G-CSF)

 • Impossibility of aspiration 240 ml of bone marrow

 • Hepathopathy or cirrhosis (bilirubin, ALT or AST ≥2,5x ULN)

 • Chronic kidney disease >3b stage (eGFR <45 ml/min/1.73m2)

 • Uncontrolled hypertension

 • Need for high dose (> 7.5 mg/day) corticotherapy within the next 6 months

 • Inability to stop anticoagulation therapy (> 72 h) before bone marrow aspiration

 • Known malignancies requiring actino or chemotherapy, or previous actinotherapy

 • Patients with a BMI > 40

 • Known allergy to contrast agents

 • Other comorbidities with a life expectancy of 6 months