The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation
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J. Heart Lung Transplant. · Jul 2019
Comparative StudyDifferential effects of ischemia/reperfusion on endothelial function and contractility in donation after circulatory death.
Donation after circulatory death (DCD) could significantly improve cardiac graft availability. However, DCD hearts undergo potentially deleterious warm ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). As endothelial damage is a key factor in cardiac I/R injury, we aimed to investigate the tolerance of cardiac and endothelial function after various durations of warm ischemia to improve the timing and choice of cardioprotective therapies. ⋯ The first signs of endothelial dysfunction after cardiac ischemia occur with less ischemia than cardiac functional alterations, and may result from increased eNOS uncoupling. Strategies aimed at improving eNOS coupling may thus help to optimize both endothelial and myocardial recovery, ultimately facilitating DCD heart transplantation.
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J. Heart Lung Transplant. · Jul 2019
DireCt Lung Ultrasound Evaluation (CLUE): A novel technique for monitoring extravascular lung water in donor lungs.
Extravascular lung water (EVLW) could change in donor lungs in a time-dependent fashion during procurement or ex-vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) and may vary across different zones. Current techniques for EVLW assessment are either subjective, general estimation, or not feasible in the clinical setting. An accurate and non-invasive diagnostic tool for EVLW would be desirable for donor lung assessment and management. Therefore, we studied the feasibility and accuracy of direCt Lung Ultrasound Evaluation (CLUE) technique. ⋯ EVLW monitoring in donor lungs with CLUE after procurement is feasible and CLUE scores were found to be significantly correlated with lung weight, wet/dry, and PaO2/FIO2 ratio.
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J. Heart Lung Transplant. · Jul 2019
Usefulness of standard computed tomography pulmonary angiography performed for acute pulmonary embolism for identification of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension: results of the InShape III study.
Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is often diagnosed after a long delay, even though signs may already be present on the computed tomography pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) used to diagnose a preceding acute pulmonary embolism (PE). In this setting of suspected acute PE, we evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of dedicated CTPA reading for the diagnosis of already existing CTEPH. ⋯ Standardized reading of CTPA scans performed for acute PE can be useful for the diagnosis of CTEPH when structured identification of 6 characteristics is employed during interpretation. The use of this strategy may help reduce diagnostic delay of CTEPH.