TransplantNow The Ultimate Guide to Clinical Transplant Research

There is no consensus on the characteristic features of antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) in lung transplantation. This retrospective cohort study characterized the clinical and pathological features of acute AMR after lung transplantation. Twenty-one patients were identified based on the presence of circulating donor-specific antibodies, histologic evidence of acute lung injury, C4d deposition, and clinical allograft dysfunction.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) used as a bridge to lung transplantation in patients failing other means of life support has been disappointing, although many transplant centres continue to explore this technology for this indication. This retrospective multi centre study describes the experience 36 patients in France between 2007 and 2011.

This retrospective cohort study aimed to describe a single centre’s experience with bilateral lung transplantations in patients with previous lung volume reduction surgery. Five-year survival was not different between the cohorts, although the incidence of both post-operative bleeding requiring re-exploration and renal dysfunction requiring dialysis were higher in the lung volume reduction group. Post-transplant peak […]

A shortage of organ donors can prompts centres to use suboptimal donors. This review of the UNOS database determined that adult single-lung transplantations performed with lungs from heavy smoking donors (>20 pack years) have worse outcomes when compared to transplants from standard donors, including longer length of stay and lower peak FEV1 after transplant. Higher […]

Although patients often participate in exercise training or rehabilitation prior to undergoing lung transplantation, the impact of pulmonary rehabilitation prior to lung transplantation has not been widely studied. This retrospective study described a pulmonary rehabilitation program designed for patients awaiting lung transplantation, assessed the exercise capacity, training volumes, and health related quality of life in […]

Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) has been linked to aspiration of gastric refluxate, thought to trigger an inflammatory process. This retrospective study aimed to determine the safety of anti-reflux surgery in lung transplant recipients and also to assess its effect on lung function. Forty lung transplant recipients with histologic evidence of gastroesophatgeal reflux aspiration on lung […]

The impact of poor nutritional status on post lung transplantation outcomes is not clear, with previous studies showing conflicting impact on post operative complications and survival. This single centre retrospective study analyzed the association between markers of nutritional status (body mass index, weight/height ratio, serum albumin, total protein, immunoglobulins, and absolute lymphocyte count) and post […]

The lung allocation score (LAS) was implemented in the USA in 2005 to ensure a more objective process for allocation of donor lungs and to minimize the effects of geography. This study examines the association between race, gender, and lung transplantation before and after introduction of the LAS, using data from the UNOS database. In […]

Although systemic sclerosis (SSc) causes fibrosis and small vessel vasculopathy in multiple organ systems, pulmonary disease, including interstitial lung disease and/or pulmonary hypertension, is the leading cause of death in these patients. Due to their multi-organ involvement, candidacy for lung transplantation may be controversial. In particular, esophageal dysmotility and gastroparesis may increase aspiration-induced injury to […]

This case series describes 7 patients with severe chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD) associated with bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) who underwent lung transplantation. About 20% of patients with severe cGVHD develop BO, which portends a poor prognosis. Lung transplantation may be performed for severe refractory BO. In this group, 6 […]