American journal of transplantation : official journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Telemedically Supported Case Management of Living-Donor Renal Transplant Recipients to Optimize Routine Evidence-Based Aftercare: A Single-Center Randomized Controlled Trial.
Improving mid-term and long-term outcomes after solid organ transplantation is imperative, and requires both state-of-the-art transplant surgery and optimization of routine, evidence-based aftercare. This randomized, controlled trial assessed the effectiveness of standard aftercare versus telemedically supported case management, an innovative aftercare model, in 46 living-donor renal transplant recipients during the first posttransplant year. The model includes three components: (i) chronic care case management initiated after discharge, (ii) case management initiated in emerging acute care situations, and (iii) a telemedically equipped team comprising a transplant nurse case manager and two senior transplant physicians (nephrologist, surgeon). ⋯ This comparative effectiveness study provides the basis for multicenter study testing of telemedically supported case management with the aim of optimizing posttransplant aftercare. The trial was registered with the German Clinical Trials Register (www. DRKS.de), DKRS00007634.
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Current diagnostic criteria for primary nonfunction (PNF) of liver grafts are based on clinical experience rather than statistical methods. A retrospective, single-center study was conducted of all adults (n = 1286) who underwent primary liver transplant (LT) 2000-2008 in our center. Laboratory variables during the first post LT week were analyzed. ⋯ The new model performed well after exclusion of patients with marginal grafts and when modified to include variables from the first three post-LT days only (AUROC of 0.818, 0.776-0.856, p = 0.001). This model is superior to the current UK PNF criteria and is based on statistical methods. The model is also applicable to recipients of all types of grafts (marginal and nonmarginal).
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Comparative Study
A Comparison of Request Process and Outcomes in Donation After Cardiac Death and Donation After Brain Death: Results From a National Study.
Available literature points to healthcare providers' discomfort with donation after cardiac death (DCD) and their perception of public reluctance toward the procedure. Using a national sample, we report on the communication content of actual DCD and donation after brain death (DBD) approaches by organ procurement organization (OPO) requesters and compare family decision makers' (FDMs') experiences of both modalities. We recruited 1601 FDMs using a validated protocol; 347 (21.7%) were of potential DCD donors. ⋯ FDMs of both modalities had similar evaluations of requester skills, topics discussed, satisfaction, and refusal reasons. The findings suggest that the DCD/DBD distinction may not be notable to families. We recommend the use of similar approach strategies and communication skills and the development of education campaigns about the public's acceptance of DCD.
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Clinical Trial
Impact of Allograft Injury Time of Onset on the Development of Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction After Lung Transplantation.
The impact of allograft injury time of onset on the risk of chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) remains unknown. We hypothesized that episodes of late-onset (≥6 months) allograft injury would produce an augmented CXCR3/ligand immune response, leading to increased CLAD. In a retrospective single-center study, 1894 transbronchial biopsy samples from 441 lung transplant recipients were reviewed for the presence of acute rejection (AR), lymphocytic bronchiolitis (LB), diffuse alveolar damage (DAD), and organizing pneumonia (OP). ⋯ Late-onset LB and acute rejection (AR) predicted CLAD in univariable models but lost significance after multivariable adjustment for late DAD and OP. AR was the only early-onset injury pattern associated with CLAD development. Elevated BAL CXCR3 ligand concentrations during late-onset allograft injury parallel the increase in CLAD risk and support our hypothesis that late allograft injuries result in a more profound CXCR3/ligand immune response.
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Frailty is associated with inferior survival and increased resource requirements among kidney transplant candidates, but assessments are time-intensive and costly and require direct patient interaction. Waitlist hospitalization may be a proxy for patient fitness and could help those at risk of poor outcomes. We examined United States Renal Data System data from 51 111 adult end-stage renal disease patients with continuous Medicare coverage who were waitlisted for transplant from January 2000 to December 2011. ⋯ A model including waitlist admissions alone performed better (C statistic 0.76, 95% CI 0.74-0.80) in predicting postlisting mortality than estimated posttransplant survival (C statistic 0.69, 95% CI 0.67-0.73). Although those with a heavy burden of admissions may still benefit from kidney transplant, less utility is derived from allografts placed in this population. Current kidney allocation policy, which is based in part on longevity matching, could be significantly improved by consideration of hospitalization records of transplant candidates.