Transplantation proceedings
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Comparative Study
Outcomes and Readmissions After Continuous Flow Left Ventricular Assist Device: Heartmate II Versus Heartware Ventricular Assist Device.
Donor organ shortage is still a problem for heart transplantation. Only 10% of patients in waiting list undergo heart transplantation. Over the last 5 years, 2 different continuous flow pumps, the HeartMate II and the HeartWare, have been successful clinically in the alternative treatment of patients with end-stage heart disease. ⋯ The Heartmate II and Heartware are comparable in most respects such as survival, intraoperative features, and major complications.
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Organ transplantation is a developing field in Nigeria, and availability of organs for donation would be a determining factor of the success of the transplant programs. Patients with brainstem death (BSD) are a major source of organs for transplantation. The level of knowledge of BSD as well as attitudes toward organ donation are very important determinants of people's willingness or otherwise to donate organs. We conducted a survey of relations of our in-service neurosurgical patients to assess their knowledge of brainstem death and attitude toward organ donation. To our knowledge, this is the first study of its kind among the growing Nigerian neurosurgery patient and patient-relations population. ⋯ The knowledge of brainstem death was low among respondents, although most of them would agree with the physician if such diagnosis was made for their relation. Most of the respondents were aware of organ donation and supported it, but the majority would not allow an organ to be harvested from their relations. Hence, education of the Nigerian people about brainstem death and organ donation is essential to increase the pool of available organs for transplantation in our community.
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Continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices (CF-LVADs) such as the HeartMate II and HeartWare left ventricular assist device are important alternatives to heart transplantation. Thrombosis is a serious complication in both devices and we present our approach to treating thrombosis and analysis of predisposition factors. ⋯ Avoiding increased mean arterial blood pressures and ensuring optimal anticoagulation may help to decrease pump thrombosis. In patients with pump thrombosis, thrombolytic therapy is an alternative that is less invasive than pump exchange, but carries the risk of hemorrhage and thromboembolism.
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Improvement of the consent rate for solid organ donation from deceased donors is a key component of strategies applied in many countries aiming to increase the availability of organs for transplantation. Attitudes toward living and posthumous donation are favorable. Research shows that the outlook on organ donation and the degree of the willingness to become an organ donor are associated with a wide range of variables. The main objective of this study was to identify factors that influence the willingness to donate organs and the reasons for refusing consent. ⋯ Our findings showed that the study group in general had favorable views on treatment involving transplantation and declared willingness to make a posthumous organ donation. These views vary depending on demographic variables. The education on the subject of organ and tissue donation has a positive impact on donation and transplantation rates.
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Monitoring of the function of the implanted kidney in renal transplant recipients (RTRs) is one of the superior elements of adequate therapeutic actions. The aim of this study was to assess the conventional and unconventional factors affecting the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD), Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI), and Cockcroft-Gault (C-G) formulas among the RTRs. ⋯ Our data indicate that (1) with a value of eGFR >60 mL/min/1.73 m(2), the MDRD formula shows values that are on average 11% lower than in the CKD-EPI and C-G formulas; (2) with a value of eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m(2), the MDRD and CKD-EPI formulas do not show statistically significant differences.