Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Respir Res 2022 Jun 25;23(1):169. Epub 2022 Jun 25.

Interstitial Lung Diseases Center of Excellence, Department of Pulmonology, St Antonius Hospital, Koekoekslaan 1, 3435 CM, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands.

Background: Advanced pulmonary sarcoidosis causes significant morbidity and can lead to death. Large trials demonstrated efficacy of antifibrotics in patients with progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (PF-ILD), including a few with sarcoidosis. To date, little is known about this progressive fibrosing phenotype in sarcoidosis. Read More

BMC Cardiovasc Disord 2022 Jun 25;22(1):288. Epub 2022 Jun 25.

Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of South China Structural Heart Disease, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, 106 Zhongshan 2nd Road, Guangzhou, 510080, Guangdong, China.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) stage 3, one of the most severe complications in patients with heart transplantation (HT), is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. We aimed to develop a machine learning (ML) model to predict post-transplant AKI stage 3 based on preoperative and perioperative features.

Methods: Data from 107 consecutive HT recipients in the provincial center between 2018 and 2020 were included for analysis. Read More

Transplant Proc 2022 Jun 22. Epub 2022 Jun 22.

Department of Cardiac, Vascular and Endovascular Surgery and Transplantology, Medical University of Silesia, Silesian Center for Heart Diseases, Zabrze, Poland.

The COVID-19 pandemic that has been ongoing since the beginning of 2020 has forced health care into a difficult struggle for wellness and the lives of patients. International data and our observations show that the course of the disease in these patients is different than in the general population. Symptoms depend on the immunosuppression and severity of viremia. Read More

Ann Thorac Surg 2022 Jun 22. Epub 2022 Jun 22.

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Gil Medical Center, Gachon University College of Medicine, Incheon, South Korea. Electronic address:

In cases with very large recipient left atrium (LA) sizes, matching the donor and recipient anastomoses can be challenging. In the presented case, this is addressed by reducing the circumference of the recipient's LA cuff by extending the pulmonary veins. The inferior pulmonary veins were extended by making neo-pulmonary veins using the remnant recipient's LA cuff, then the circumference of the recipient's LA cuff could be reduced to easily anastomosis. Read More

Pediatr Cardiol 2022 Jun 25. Epub 2022 Jun 25.

Division of Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.

Contemporary multicenter data regarding midterm outcomes for neonates with pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum are lacking. We sought to describe outcomes in a contemporary multicenter cohort, determine factors associated with end-states, and evaluate the effect of right ventricular coronary dependency and coronary atresia on transplant-free survival. Neonates treated during 2009-2019 in 19 United States centers were reviewed. Read More

Acta Dermatovenerol Alp Pannonica Adriat 2022 Jun;31(2):79-81

Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Strongyloides stercoralis causes chronic, mostly asymptomatic infections but hyperinfection syndrome may occur in immunosuppressed patients, especially in those receiving corticosteroids. We report a case of S. stercoralis hyperinfection syndrome in a solid organ transplant recipient that occurred approximately 2. Read More

Clin Transplant 2022 Jun 25:e14746. Epub 2022 Jun 25.

Cardiovascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.

Background: Mechanical circulatory support (MCS) has been widely utilized in critically ill cardiac transplant candidates. Few studies have investigated the impact of duration of MCS before heart transplantation (HTx) on long-term patient survival.

Methods: A retrospective HTx database was reviewed between 2009 and 2019. Read More

Int J Cardiol 2022 Jun 21. Epub 2022 Jun 21.

Heart Failure and Transplant Clinics, St. Boniface Hospital, and Section of Cardiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, reductions in heart failure (HF) hospitalizations have been widely reported, and there is an urgent need to understand how HF care has been reorganized in countries with different infection levels, vaccination rates and healthcare services. The OPTIMIZE Heart Failure Care program has a global network of investigators in 42 countries, with first-hand experience of the impact of the pandemic on HF management in different care settings. The national coordinators were surveyed to assess: 1) the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic for continuity of HF care, from both a hospital and patient perspective; 2) the organizational changes enacted to ensure continued HF care; and 3) lessons learned for the future of HF care. Read More

Transplantation 2022 Jun 24. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO.

Ischemia-reperfusion injury is an inevitable event during organ transplantation and represents a primary risk factor for the development of early graft dysfunction in lung, heart, liver, and kidney transplant recipients. Recent studies have implicated recipient neutrophils as key mediators of this process and also have found that early innate immune responses after transplantation can ultimately augment adaptive alloimmunity and affect late graft outcomes. Here, we discuss signaling pathways involved in neutrophil recruitment and activation after ischemia-mediated graft injury in solid organ transplantation with an emphasis on lung allografts, which have been the focus of recent studies. Read More

Cardiol Young 2022 Jun 24:1-6. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Clinical Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Post-transplantation lymphoproliferative is a potentially mortal complication after heart transplantation in children. As the immune system plays a crucial role in the development of lymphoma, we explored the influence of thymus function in relation to immunosuppressive treatment in organ-transplanted children and healthy control subjects. A prospective case-control study was performed at a single centre, in which 36 children who had undergone heart transplantation were compared to two control groups: 34 kidney-transplanted children and 33 healthy age- and sex-matched children. Read More

Indian J Hematol Blood Transfus 2022 Jul 28;38(3):444-453. Epub 2021 Jul 28.

Department of Hematology, Bone Marrow Transplantation Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, No. 79, Qingchun Rd., Hangzhou, 310003 Zhejiang Province China.

To retrospectively identify the critical characteristics and prognostic factors of light-chain amyloidosis.

Patients And Methods: Data were collected and compared from 91 patients who were diagnosed with light-chain amyloidosis at four hospitals between January 2010 and November 2018. We analyzed the clinical characteristics and performed an overall survival (OS) analysis. Read More

Transplant Direct 2022 Jul 17;8(7):e1323. Epub 2022 Jun 17.

French National Referral Centre for Cardiac Amyloidosis, Créteil, France.

Heart transplantation in cardiac amyloidosis (CA) patients is possible and generally considered for transplantation if other organs are not affected. In this study, we aimed to describe and assess outcome in patients following heart transplantations at our CA referral center.

Methods: We assessed all CA patients that had heart transplantations at our center between 2005 and 2018. Read More

EClinicalMedicine 2022 Jul 27;49:101466. Epub 2022 May 27.

Department of Cardiology, Shanghai Children's Medical Centre, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200127, China.

Background: Few data on paediatric hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) are available in developing countries. A multicentre, retrospective, cohort study was conducted to profile the clinical characteristics and survival of children with HCM in China.

Methods: We collected longitudinal data on children with HCM aged 0-18 years at three participating institutions between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2019. Read More

Stat Med 2022 Jun 23. Epub 2022 Jun 23.

Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health (Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.

In clinical or epidemiological follow-up studies, methods based on time scale indicators such as the restricted mean survival time (RMST) have been developed to some extent. Compared with traditional hazard rate indicator system methods, the RMST is easier to interpret and does not require the proportional hazard assumption. To date, regression models based on the RMST are indirect or direct models of the RMST and baseline covariates. Read More

Nephrol Dial Transplant 2022 Jun 23. Epub 2022 Jun 23.

Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.

Background: Limited health literacy is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in the general population but the relation of health literacy with long-term clinical outcomes among adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is less clear.

Methods: Prospective data from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study (n = 3,715) were used. Health literacy was assessed with the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (dichotomized as limited/adequate). Read More

Pharmaceutics 2022 Jun 12;14(6). Epub 2022 Jun 12.

Unità di Chirurgia Cardiaca, Dipartimento di Scienze Clinico Chirurgiche, Diagnostiche e Pediatriche, Università degli Studi di Pavia-U.O.C. di Cardiochirurgia, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, 27100 Pavia, Italy.

Tacrolimus (TAC) is an immunosuppressant drug approved both in the US and in the EU, widely used for the prophylaxis of organ rejection after transplantation. This is a critical dose drug: low levels in whole blood can lead to low exposure and a high risk of acute rejection, whereas overexposure puts patients at risk for toxicity and infection. Both situations can occur at whole-blood concentrations considered to be within the narrow TAC therapeutic range. Read More

Pathogens 2022 Jun 2;11(6). Epub 2022 Jun 2.

Department of Physiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a globally prevalent skin inflammation with a particular impact on children. Current therapies for AD are challenged by the limited armamentarium and the high heterogeneity of the disease. A novel promising therapeutic target for AD is the microbiota. Read More

Medicina (Kaunas) 2022 Jun 20;58(6). Epub 2022 Jun 20.

Department of Laboratory Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 05505, Korea.

: The ABO antibody (Ab) titration tests are used in monitoring in ABO-incompatible (ABOi) solid organ transplantation (SOT). However, currently developed ABO Ab tests show Ab binding reactions. This study attempted to measure ABO Ab level using complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC). Read More

J Pers Med 2022 May 31;12(6). Epub 2022 May 31.

Heart Failure and Transplantation Unit, Cardiology Department, University and Polytechnic La Fe Hospital, 46026 Valencia, Spain.

The non-invasive diagnosis of acute cellular rejection (ACR) is a major challenge. We performed a molecular study analyzing the predictive capacity of serum RanGTPase AP1 (RANGAP1) for diagnosing ACR during the first year after heart transplantation (HT). We included the serum samples of 75 consecutive HT patients, extracted after clinical stability, to determine the RANGAP1 levels through ELISA. Read More

J Clin Med 2022 Jun 17;11(12). Epub 2022 Jun 17.

Clinical Department of Nephrology and Transplantation Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University, Borowska Street 213, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland.

Background: Patients with heart failure represent a vulnerable population for COVID-19 and are prone to having worse prognoses and higher fatality rates. Still, the clinical course of the infection is dynamic, and complication occurrence in particular in patients with heart failure is fairly unpredictable. Considering that individual components of the CHEST (C2: Coronary Artery Diseases (CAD)/Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); H: Hypertension; E: Elderly (Age ≥ 75); S: Systolic HF; T: Thyroid disease) are parallel to COVID-19 mortality risk factors, we evaluate the predictive value of CHEST score in patients with heart failure (HF) Material and Methods: The retrospective medical data analysis of 2184 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the University Hospital in Wroclaw between February 2020 and June 2021 was the basis of the study. Read More

J Clin Med 2022 Jun 14;11(12). Epub 2022 Jun 14.

Department for the Treatment and Study of Cardiothoracic Diseases and Cardiothoracic Transplantation, IRCCS-ISMETT, 90127 Palermo, Italy.

Background: Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) is a heterogeneous disease with different clinical presentations, albeit producing similar dismal long-term outcomes if left untreated. Several approaches are available for the treatment of HOCM; e.g. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022 Jun 15;19(12). Epub 2022 Jun 15.

GIS Health & Hazards Lab, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.

Lung transplantation is an increasingly common lifesaving therapy for patients with fatal lung diseases, but this intervention has a critical limitation as median survival after LT is merely 5.5 years. Despite the profound impact of place-based factors on lung health, this has not been rigorously investigated in LT recipients-a vulnerable population due to the lifelong need for daily life-sustaining immunosuppression medications. Read More

Sci Rep 2022 Jun 23;12(1):10682. Epub 2022 Jun 23.

Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Severance Hospital, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea.

Late Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) is not rare in the era of universal prophylaxis after kidney transplantation. We aimed to determine the nationwide status of PJP prophylaxis in Korea and compare the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of early and late PJP using data from the Korean Organ Transplantation Registry (KOTRY), a nationwide Korean transplant cohort. We conducted a retrospective analysis using data of 4,839 kidney transplant patients from KOTRY between 2014 and 2018, excluding patients who received multi-organ transplantation or were under 18 years old. Read More

Ann Thorac Surg 2022 Jun 20. Epub 2022 Jun 20.

Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.

Heart-lung transplantation is a mature therapy but has perioperative complications such as phrenic nerve dysfunction and mediastinal bleeding. We report our technical modifications to simplify the procedure. Read More

Br J Haematol 2022 Jun 23. Epub 2022 Jun 23.

Department of Pathology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.

We adjusted haematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) apheresis collection from patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) by targeting deep buffy coat collection using medium or low collection preference (CP), and by increasing anticoagulant-citrate-dextrose-solution A dosage. In 43 HSPC collections from plerixafor-mobilized adult patients with SCD, we increased the collection efficiency to 35.79% using medium CP and 82. Read More

Toxins (Basel) 2022 Jun 16;14(6). Epub 2022 Jun 16.

Division of Renal Medicine, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, SE-17177 Stockholm, Sweden.

Patients with kidney failure (KF) have a high incidence of cardiovascular (CV) disease, partly driven by insufficient clearance of uremic toxins. Recent investigations have questioned the accepted effects of adverse lipid profile and CV risk in uremic patients. Therefore, we related a panel of uremic toxins previously associated with CV morbidity/mortality to a full lipid profile in a large, tri-national, cross-sectional cohort. Read More

Methods Protoc 2022 Jun 5;5(3). Epub 2022 Jun 5.

Department of Neurosurgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.

Spine surgery patients with a history of organ transplantation are a complex population due to their unique anesthetic considerations, immunologic profiles, drug interactions, and potential organ dysfunction. It is common for these patients to develop neck/back pain and pathology that warrants surgical intervention. However, there is a relative dearth of literature examining their outcomes and clinical considerations. Read More

ESC Heart Fail 2022 Jun 23. Epub 2022 Jun 23.

Department of Cardiology, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Integrata Giuliano Isontina (ASUGI), University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.

Aims: Chemotherapy-induced dilated cardiomyopathy (CI-DCM) is a well-recognized phenotype of non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), characterized by poor outcomes. However, a detailed comparison between idiopathic DCM (iDCM) and CI-DCM is still lacking.

Methods And Results: All consecutive DCM patients enrolled in the Trieste Muscle Heart Disease Registry were analysed. Read More

J Cardiovasc Dev Dis 2022 May 25;9(6). Epub 2022 May 25.

National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Suita 564-8565, Japan.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is an underdiagnosed genetic heart disease with an estimated prevalence of 0.2-0.5%. Read More

Rev Med Chil 2021 Dec;149(12):1806-1811

Centro Cardiovascular, Hospital Clínico Regional de Concepción "Dr. Guillermo Grant Benavente", Concepción, Chile.

Prosthetic valve replacement is the standard treatment for aortic valvulopathy. Due to the structural valve deterioration of biological prosthesis and the anticoagulation requirements of mechanical valves, the repair of aortic valve disease is receiving more attention in recent years. The Ozaki technique consists in the reconstruction of a trileaflet valve using autologous pericardium. Read More