The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
-
J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Oct 2022
Editorial CommentCommentary: Let food be thy medicine?-Hippocrates.
-
J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Oct 2022
Editorial CommentCommentary: It is safe, but is it really better?
-
J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Oct 2022
Lung transplantation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A call to modify the lung allocation score to decrease waitlist mortality.
Approximately 40% of lung transplants for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the lung allocation score era are single lung transplantations (SLTs). We hypothesized that double lung transplantation (DLT) results in superior survival, but that mortality on the waitlist may compel clinicians to perform SLT. We investigated both waitlist mortality in COPD patients with restricted versus unrestricted listing preferences and posttransplant survival in SLT versus DLT to identify key predictors of mortality. ⋯ Restricted listing preference is associated with increased waitlist mortality, but DLT recipients have superior posttransplant survival. Because the lung allocation score does not prioritize COPD, concern for increased waitlist mortality with restricted listing preference may drive continued use of SLT despite better posttransplant survival in DLT.