Seminars in respiratory and critical care medicine
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Jun 2013
ReviewNeutrophilic reversible allograft dysfunction (NRAD) and restrictive allograft syndrome (RAS).
Lung transplantation is currently considered as an ultimate live-saving treatment for selected patients suffering from end-stage pulmonary disease. Long-term survival, however, is hampered by chronic rejection, or chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD). Recently, various phenotypes within CLAD have been identified, challenging the established clinical definition of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS). ⋯ This phenotype is called restrictive allograft syndrome (RAS), and patients with RAS have a much worse prognosis after diagnosis. This review further discusses both of these CLAD phenotypes that do not fit the classical definition of BOS. Potential pathophysiological mechanisms, etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatments are discussed.
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Jun 2013
ReviewDNA viral infections complicating lung transplantation.
DNA viruses with potential to cause complications after lung transplantation include the human Herpesviridae family consisting of cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 (HSV-1, -2), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), human herpesvirus 6, 7, and 8 (HHV-6, -7, -8), and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV); the Polyomaviridae family consisting of BK virus and JC virus; and the Adenoviridae family consisting of more than 50 adenovirus subtypes. This is a diverse group of viruses with equally diverse immediate and long-term impacts on allograft function and clinical outcomes following lung transplantation. This article discusses the individual pathogens, their epidemiology and clinical manifestations, as well as treatment and preventive strategies in this era of antiviral treatment regimens.
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This article reviews recent developments in the selection, assessment, and management of the potential lung donor, which aim to increase donor organ use. The scarcity of suitable donor organs continues to limit lung transplantation, but the situation is changing. An expanded donor pool, including the now widespread use of donation after cardiac death (DCD) lungs; the use of extended donor lungs; and the ability of ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) to evaluate and improve donor lungs are key initiatives. ⋯ It is now quite clear that many of the historical factors used to define a lung as "extended" do not actually produce significantly inferior outcomes. There has been a dramatic increase in research and clinical interest in donor lung assessment, management, and novel therapeutic strategies. The lessons learned are now being applied widely beyond the lung as researchers aim to increase availability and optimize other solid organs for transplantation.
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Improving health-related quality of life is an important goal of lung transplantation. This review describes background concepts, including definitions, measurement and interpretation of health-related quality of life (HRQL), and other patient-reported outcomes. ⋯ Physical rehabilitation may augment the early improvements in HRQL, whereas bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome and psychological conditions have a negative impact. More research is needed, particularly longitudinal, multicenter studies, to better understand the trajectory and determinants of HRQL after lung transplantation, and the impact of targeted interventions to improve HRQL.
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The number of donors falls short of the number of patients on the wait list for lung transplantation making it necessary to ration the available donor organs. The ideal allocation system is guided by ethical principles and scientifically accurate at identifying patients who will gain the greatest degree of benefit from receiving the organ, in terms of both pre- and posttransplantation survival. The lung allocation score (LAS) was developed in 2005 to reduce mortality on the wait list, prioritize candidates based on urgency, minimize the role of geography, and maximize transplant benefit. ⋯ In prioritizing patients with the most urgent status, a new controversy has come into the forefront: whether or not the increased number of critically ill recipients maximizes transplant benefit. Despite the controversy, the LAS system is an improvement compared with the traditional first-come, first-served system, and it has even been adopted by Eurotransplant. In the future, as modifications are made to improve the LAS, the issue of critically ill patients and maximizing posttransplant benefit will be the focus.