Transplantation proceedings
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Case Reports
Successful lung salvage by ex vivo reconditioning of neurogenic pulmonary edema: case report.
Liberalization in donor selection criteria allowed centers to increase the number of lung transplants, yet less than 25% of all donors had lungs utilized for transplantation in the United States in 2013. Less than 5% of all transplanted donors deviate 3 or more criteria from the ideal donor. Ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) provides the opportunity to increase the percentage of used donors by acting on modifiable selection criteria such as oxygenation, contusion and pulmonary infiltrates. ⋯ The post-operative course was excellent and was discharged home after 15 days. He is alive and doing well 780 days after transplant. In this report the pre-transplant use of EVLP led not only to transplanting lungs that otherwise would not have been used by many centers, but also to a very short and typical period of post-operative mechanical ventilation and hospital stay.
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Although post-liver transplantation pain is not as severe as expected from the size of the surgical incision, optimal pain control becomes crucial to aid compliance with the ventilator, improve respiratory function, and facilitate an early weaning from mechanical ventilation. ⋯ Frequent review of the patient's response is mandatory when potent opioids are used because dose-dependent respiratory depression is a serious and potentially life-threatening adverse effect. The benefits provided by epidural analgesia in this particular setting should be weighed against the risks because in the presence of markedly deranged perioperative blood clotting, the development of epidural hematoma represents a disastrous complication.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Adaptive support ventilation versus synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation with pressure support in weaning patients after orthotopic liver transplantation.
The extubation phase is an extremely critical moment in patients who have undergone orthotopic liver transplantation, who do not always have the advantage of long-lasting positive-pressure ventilation and positive expiratory end pressure; these factors can lead to splanchnic venous congestion, and this is why a rapid extubation can represent a great benefit for the graft. ⋯ Our results suggest that although both procedures are safe and easy to apply, ASV is superior in terms of weaning times, and it simplifies respiratory management. The better patient-machine interaction in ASV has been highlighted by other authors for different clusters of patients.