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. · May 2006
Comparative StudyComparison of induced sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage in lung transplant recipients.
Chronic lung rejection is characterized by obliterative bronchiolitis (OB) diagnosed based on spirometric criteria reflecting an already advanced process. Biologic markers such as bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) neutrophilia or increased levels of chemokines (interleukin-8, RANTES [regulated on activation: normal T cell expressed and secreted]) have been proposed as early diagnosis tools. However, BAL is too invasive to be used as a routine strategy. Induced sputum (IS), however, is a non-invasive method of recovering bronchial cells. ⋯ IS and BAL provide different but complementary data. In this study, IS appeared to be a useful, non-invasive tool for LTR monitoring. Furthermore, IS provides new insights into BOS pathogenesis, especially with regard to implication of eosinophils and its chemokine, RANTES, at the bronchial level.
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J. Heart Lung Transplant. · May 2006
Tissue Doppler imaging detects severely abnormal myocardial velocities that identify children with pre-terminal cardiac graft failure after heart transplantation.
Children with orthotopic heart transplants (OHT) may die or require retransplantation due to chronic graft failure usually due to severe coronary allograft vasculopathy (CAV). Non-invasive detection of chronic transplant failure has been problematic due to lack of specific echocardiographic findings. Tissue Doppler Imaging (TDI) is a non-invasive ultrasound methodology, which measures myocardial contraction and relaxation velocities. The purposes of this study were to: 1. Determine quantitative changes of longitudinal TDI velocities characteristic to "pre-terminal" patients who subsequently either died or were listed for re-transplantation due to graft failure; 2. to define the time course of these changes, and 3. to show whether RV and LV velocities were equally effected. ⋯ The TDI data reported here show 3 to 6 months before the terminal graft failure, tricuspid, but not mitral, S and E TDI velocities, deteriorated to uniquely low levels not seen in other clinically well pediatric transplant recipients. Further RV deterioration occurred during the final 3 months before death and severely reduced left ventricular velocities then occurred. Small decreases in LVEF and progressive increases in the severity of tricuspid regurgitation were also detectable and predicted an increased likelihood of mortality. Seven of the 8 preterminal patients had angiograms 5 of which showed severe CAV. These data suggest that there is a critical "pre-terminal" window of time in which children demonstrate uniquely reduced right and subsequently left sided myocardial velocities at approximately 6 months prior to graft failure. The practice of annual catheterization and coronary angiography may not allow caregivers an opportunity to intervene early in the process of graft dysfunction. Therefore, a strategy of tissue Doppler echocardiography 2 or 3 times each year might be an appropriate regimen to survey for graft impairment.
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J. Heart Lung Transplant. · May 2006
Aminoterminal B-type pro-natriuretic peptide as a marker of recovery after high-risk coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with ischemic heart disease and severe impaired left ventricular function.
Aminoterminal B-type pro-natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a reliable indicator of heart failure severity. Levels of NT-proBNP are markedly increased in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and severely impaired left ventricular (LV) function. The aim of our study was to assess the impact of NT-proBNP levels after high-risk coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with regard to recovery potential. ⋯ Patients undergoing a high-risk CABG procedure have a survival rate comparable to heart transplantation patients and show a potential for clinical and myocardial recovery. NT-proBNP use a useful marker for recovery after a high-risk CABG procedure, with significant correlation with clinical parameters.
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J. Heart Lung Transplant. · May 2006
Case ReportsLevitronix as a short-term salvage treatment for primary graft failure after heart transplantation.
Primary graft failure after heart transplantation is a well-recognized catastrophic complication with a high mortality rate. It is becoming more frequent due to the increasing use of marginal donors. In these difficult cases a ventricular assist device (VAD) as a bridge to recovery or as a bridge to re-transplantation can be used. The recently introduced Levitronix Centrimag centrifugal pump might be an ideal device for this purpose. ⋯ In our experience, the Levitronix Centrimag seems to be safe and effective in the treatment of primary graft failure, achieving effective circulatory support and ventricular off-loading. We propose its use in isolated or biventricular graft failure either as bridge to re-transplant or as a bridge to recovery.
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J. Heart Lung Transplant. · Apr 2006
Comparative StudyValidation of the proposed International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation grading system for primary graft dysfunction after lung transplantation.
A scoring system was recently proposed to grade the severity of primary graft dysfunction (PGD), a frequent early complication of lung transplantation. The purposes of this study are to: (1) validate the PGD grading system with respect to patient outcomes; and (2) compare the performance of criteria employing the arterial oxygenation to fraction of inspired oxygen (P/F) ratio to an alternative grading system employing the oxygenation index (OI). ⋯ There is an increased risk of short- and long-term mortality and length of hospital stay associated with severe (Grade 3) PGD. The proposed ISHLT grading system can rapidly identify patients with poor outcomes who may benefit from early, aggressive treatment. Refinement of the scoring system may further improve patient risk stratification.