American journal of transplantation : official journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons
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The ongoing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has a drastic impact on national health care systems. Given the overwhelming demand on facility capacity, the impact on all health care sectors has to be addressed. Solid organ transplantation represents a field with a high demand on staff, intensive care units, and follow-up facilities. ⋯ Systematic polymerase chain reaction-based testing of donors and recipients was broadly recommended. Additionally, more specific aspects (eg, screening of surgical explant teams and restricted use of marginal donor organs) were included in our analysis. This study offers a novel approach to informed guidance for health care management when a priori no scientific evidence is available.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly evolved and changed our way of life in an unprecedented manner. The emergence of COVID-19 has impacted transplantation worldwide. ⋯ Based on our collective experience, we discuss mitigation strategies such as donor screening, resource planning, and a staged approach to transplant volume considerations as local resource issues demand. We also discuss issues related to transplant-related research during the pandemic, the role of transplant infectious diseases, and the influence of transplant societies for education and disseminating current information.
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An ongoing outbreak of pneumonia associated with the severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) started in Wuhan, China, with cases now confirmed in multiple countries. The clinical course of patients remains to be fully characterized, clinical presentation ranges from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory distress syndrome and acute renal failure, and no pharmacological therapies of proven efficacy yet exist. ⋯ This is a rare report of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a renal transplant recipient. Further data are needed to achieve better understanding of the impact of immunosuppressive therapy on the clinical presentation, severity, and outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infections in solid organ transplant recipients.
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a pandemic since March 2020. We describe here 2 cases of COVID-19 infection in a posttransplant setting. First one is a 59-year-old renal transplant recipient; the second is a 51-year-old allogeneic bone marrow transplant recipient. ⋯ Both patients died despite the maximal mechanical ventilatory support. Therefore, the prognosis of COVID-19 pneumonia following transplantation is not optimistic and remains guarded. Lower T cell count may be a surrogate for poor outcome.
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The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic has caused shockwaves throughout the US healthcare system. Nowhere has coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) caused more infections than in New York, where there have been over 26 500 infections. Resources have been appropriately allocated toward combating this outbreak, but where does this leave patients with severe non-COVID-19 diseases? Herein we provide the views of a liver transplant surgeon and transplant hepatologist in New York.