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Curr Opin Organ Transplant 2020 Jun 30. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Department of Surgery, Division of Hepatobiliary, Pancreas, and Abdominal Organ Transplant, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Purpose Of Review: In the United States, the leading indication for kidney transplant is primary kidney dysfunction arising from chronic hypertension and diabetes. However, an increasing indication for kidney transplantation is secondary kidney dysfunction in the setting of another severe organ dysfunction, including pancreas, liver, heart, and lung disease. In these settings, multiorgan transplantation is now commonly performed. Read More

Hum Vaccin Immunother 2020 Jul 2:1-8. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Leuven University Vaccinology Center , Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

Upon exposure to vaccine-preventable diseases, certain individuals are at increased risk for complications due to preexisting diseases, age or immunosuppressive treatment. Vaccination against influenza, pneumococcal disease and hepatitis B (for some groups) is advised in addition to standard vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. We estimated the vaccination coverage and determinants of recommended vaccinations in patients with diabetes mellitus type 1 (n = 173) and type 2 (n = 177), chronic kidney disease (CKD) (n = 138), heart failure (n = 200), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (n = 187), HIV (n = 201) or solid organ transplantation (SOT) (n = 201) in a monocentric study. Read More

Transplant Direct 2020 Jun 8;6(6):e554. Epub 2020 May 8.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.

The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has not only caused global social disruptions but has also put tremendous strain on healthcare systems worldwide. With all attention and significant effort diverted to containing and managing the COVID-19 outbreak (and understandably so), essential medical services such as transplant services are likely to be affected. Closure of transplant programs in an outbreak caused by a highly transmissible novel pathogen may be inevitable owing to patient safety. Read More

Am J Surg 2020 Jun 13. Epub 2020 Jun 13.

University of Alabama at Birmingham Schools of Medicine, Department of Surgery, United States.

Background: As obesity prevalence grows, more end-stage organ disease patients will be precluded from transplant. Numerous reports suggest bariatric surgery in end-stage organ disease may help patients achieve weight loss sufficient for transplant listing.

Methods: We performed a systematic review/meta-analysis of studies of bariatric surgery to achieve solid organ transplant listing. Read More

BMC Nephrol 2020 Jun 29;21(1):242. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

Department of Imaging, Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.

Background: Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) remains one of the leading causes of premature death in diabetes. DKD is classified on albuminuria and reduced kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)) but these have modest value for predicting future renal status. There is an unmet need for biomarkers that can be used in clinical settings which also improve prediction of renal decline on top of routinely available data, particularly in the early stages. Read More

Am Heart J 2020 Apr 20;226:161-173. Epub 2020 Apr 20.

Adult and Child Consortium for Outcomes Research and Delivery Science, Aurora, CO; VA Eastern Colorado Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Denver, CO; Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO.

Shared decision making (SDM) facilitates delivery of medical therapies that are in alignment with patients' goals and values. Medicare national coverage decision for several interventions now includes SDM mandates, but few have been evaluated in nationwide studies. Based upon a detailed needs assessment with diverse stakeholders, we developed pamphlet and video patient decision aids (PtDAs) for implantable cardioverter/defibrillator (ICD) implantation, ICD replacement, and cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillation to help patients contemplate, forecast, and deliberate their options. Read More

Transfus Med Hemother 2020 Jun 5;47(3):205-213. Epub 2020 May 5.

Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Introduction: The diagnosis and treatment of antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) after lung transplantation has recently gained recognition within the transplant community. Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP), currently used to treat chronic lung allograft dysfunction, modulates various pathways of the immune system known to be involved in AMR. We hypothesize that adding ECP to established AMR treatments could prevent the rebound of donor-specific antibodies (DSA). Read More

Allergy 2020 Jun 27. Epub 2020 Jun 27.

Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry "Scuola Medica Salernitana", University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy.

Therapeutic advances using targeted biologicals and small molecule drugs have achieved significant success in the treatment of chronic allergic, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases particularly for some patients with severe, treatment-resistant forms. This has been aided by improved identification of disease phenotypes. Despite these achievements, not all severe forms of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases are successfully targeted, and current treatment options, besides allergen immunotherapy for selected allergic diseases, fail to change the disease course. Read More

Clin Transplant 2020 Jun 26:e14027. Epub 2020 Jun 26.

Department of General, Visceral, and Transplant Surgery, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany.

Immunosuppression leaves transplanted patients at particular risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The specific features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in immunosuppressed patients are largely unknown and therapeutic experience is lacking. Seven transplanted patients (two liver, three kidneys, one double lung, one heart) admitted to the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich because of COVID-19 and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were included. Read More

Nurs Open 2020 Jul 27;7(4):1146-1156. Epub 2020 Apr 27.

Institute of Health Sciences Lund University Lund Sweden.

Aim: To provide a multidimensional assessment of self-reported chronic pain 1-5 years after heart transplantation and its relationship with self-reported well-being, fatigue, recovery, self-efficacy and socio-economic factors and to explore differences between heart recipients and a cohort of lung recipients.

Design: This multicentre, cross-sectional, cohort study is a part of the Swedish national Self-management after thoracic transplantation study.

Methods: Six questionnaires were distributed at the heart recipients yearly follow-up (1-5 years) at three Swedish university hospitals 2014-2017. Read More

J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2020 Feb 19. Epub 2020 Feb 19.

Division of Thoracic Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. Electronic address:

Background: Lung transplantation has evolved to a routinely performed surgical procedure in patients with end-stage pulmonary disease. Bronchial healing problems are rare but represent a potential life-threatening complication. Herein, we aimed to define the incidence, classification, and treatment of bronchial complications after lung transplantation. Read More

J Heart Lung Transplant 2020 May 19. Epub 2020 May 19.

Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; Department of Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. Electronic address:

Background: Compositional changes in the microbiome are associated with the development of bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) after lung transplantation (LTx) in adults with cystic fibrosis (CF). The association between the lower airway bacterial community and BO after LTx in children with CF remains largely unexplored and is possibly influenced by frequent antibiotic therapy. The objectives of this study were to examine the relationship between bacterial community dynamics and the development of BO and analyze antibiotic resistance trends in children after LTx for CF. Read More

ESC Heart Fail 2020 Jun 24. Epub 2020 Jun 24.

Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Aims: Statins improve survival and reduce rejection and cardiac allograft vasculopathy after heart transplantation (HT). The impact of different statin intensities on clinical outcomes has never been assessed. We set out to determine the impact of statin exposure on cardiovascular outcomes after HT. Read More

Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg 2020 Jun 24. Epub 2020 Jun 24.

Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit, Marie Lannelongue Hospital, Le Plessis Robinson, France.

Objectives: Echocardiographic right ventricular (RV) annular parameters are probably not as reliable to evaluate the surgical success in the postoperative period after pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA), whereas RV end-diastolic/left ventricular end-diastolic area ratio (RVEDA/LVEDA ratio) could be more useful. This study examined the relationship between RV annular parameters or RVEDA/LVEDA ratio and ideal cardiac index (ICI), before and after PEA.

Methods: Among 80 patients who underwent PEA, the relationships between RVEDA/LVEDA ratio (21 patients), or tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (32 patients), or systolic tricuspid annular velocity (55 patients) and ICI were modelled. Read More

J Heart Lung Transplant 2020 Jun 5. Epub 2020 Jun 5.

Division of Cardiology, Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, Athens, Greece.

Transplant Proc 2020 Jun 19. Epub 2020 Jun 19.

Department of Cardiac, Vascular, and Endovascular Surgery and Transplantology, Silesian Center for Heart Diseases in Zabrze, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland. Electronic address:

Background: Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are a heterogeneous group of more than 200 diseases manifested by progressive exercise dyspnea, radiological lung changes, and ventilation restrictive disorders. ILDs are the second most common indication for lung transplantation (LTx). Our study group consisted of 139 patients who qualified for LTx at the Silesian Center for Heart Diseases between 2004 and 2018. Read More

Transplant Proc 2020 Jun 19. Epub 2020 Jun 19.

Silesian Center for Heart Diseases, Zabrze, Poland.

Background: Cystic fibrosis is a congenital, progressive disease affecting many organs. It frequently leads to severe respiratory failure, which can be treated by means of a double lung transplantation. Single lung transplantation is justified only in certain cases. Read More

Chest 2020 Jun 18. Epub 2020 Jun 18.

Department of Surgery and Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA. Electronic address:

Background: Thoracic transplantation is considered for patients with Eisenmenger's syndrome (ES) who have refractory right ventricular failure despite optimal therapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension. We compared the outcomes of bilateral lung transplant (BLT) with cardiac defect repair versus combined heart-lung transplant (HLT).

Research Question: Which is the most effective thoracic transplant strategy in patients with ES?

Study Design And Methods: We identified patients with ES who underwent thoracic transplantation from 1987 to 2018 from the UNOS database. Read More

Transplant Proc 2020 Jun 16. Epub 2020 Jun 16.

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

Background: Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score is used to assess the severity of chronic liver disease. It is implemented in transplantology in the process of qualification for urgent liver transplant. The aim of our study was to assess the liver function of patients qualified for lung transplant using MELD score, taking under consideration mean pulmonary artery pressure as an important risk factor of death. Read More

ESC Heart Fail 2020 Jun 17. Epub 2020 Jun 17.

Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund, The Section for Cardiology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

Aims: Metabolic derangement is implicated in the pathophysiology of heart failure (HF) and pulmonary hypertension (PH). We aimed to identify the dynamics of metabolic plasma proteins linked to end-stage HF and associated PH in relation to haemodynamics, before and after heart transplantation (HT).

Methods And Results: Twenty-one metabolic plasma proteins were analysed with proximity extension assay in 20 controls and 26 patients before and 1 year after HT. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2020 05 24. Epub 2020 May 24.

Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Section of Heart Failure and Transplant, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa.

Studies have shown that highly selected patients who underwent combined heart-kidney (HK) and heart-liver transplants (HLv) have short- and long-term outcomes comparable to those observed in primary heart transplantation (HT). Adults patients with stage D heart failure that underwent combined HK, HLv, and heart-lung (HL) were identified in the United Network for Organ Sharing registry from 1991 to 2016, with follow-up through March 2018. We conducted inverse probability of treatment weighting survival analysis of long-term survival stratified by type of combined organ transplant, accounting for donor, recipient, and operative characteristics. Read More

Prog Transplant 2020 Jun 16:1526924820933843. Epub 2020 Jun 16.

Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA.

In addition to medical and psychological support, social support plays a key role in the success of lung transplant recipients, especially in children. An important component of that social support for pediatric lung transplant recipients is school reentry. These children face daily challenges, which often have to be addressed by the transplant team with little existing guidance in the medical literature. Read More

Cir Cir 2020 ;88(3):254-262

Servicio Hospitalario de la Donación, Unidades Médicas de Alta Especialidad, Hospital de Especialidades N.º 1, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Centro Médico Nacional del Bajío, León, Guanajuato. México.

Background: The evolution of the activity of deceased organ donation and solid organ transplantation in Mexico was analyzed for the period of 2004-2018.

Method: The information of deceased donation and organ transplantation in Mexico was collected and ordered for said period. When there was no complete information for 2018, the data for 2017 were used instead. Read More

Am J Health Syst Pharm 2020 Jun 15. Epub 2020 Jun 15.

University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, NC.

Purpose: An institutional workflow developed by clinical pharmacists for initiation of directing-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for patients who receive solid organ transplants from hepatitis C (HCV)-positive donors is described; programmatic challenges in providing pharmaceutical care to these patients are reviewed.

Summary: In recent years the introduction of new oral DAAs, coupled with faster screening of donor organs for HCV infection through use of a nucleic acid test (NAT), has facilitated transplants of organs from HCV-seropositive donors to HCV-seronegative recipients. The solid organ transplant program of a North Carolina health system began performing such transplants in December 2017. Read More

Nat Commun 2020 Jun 12;11(1):2976. Epub 2020 Jun 12.

Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Lund University and Skane University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.

Pre-clinical heart transplantation studies have shown that ex vivo non-ischemic heart preservation (NIHP) can be safely used for 24 h. Here we perform a prospective, open-label, non-randomized phase II study comparing NIHP to static cold preservation (SCS), the current standard for adult heart transplantation. All adult recipients on waiting lists for heart transplantation were included in the study, unless they met any exclusion criteria. Read More

J Heart Lung Transplant 2020 May 24. Epub 2020 May 24.

Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.

Transplant Proc 2020 Jun 9. Epub 2020 Jun 9.

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

Introduction: Long-term outcomes of airway complications (AC) after lung transplantation are unknown. The incidence of AC varies from 1.6% to 32% with the related mortality rate of 2% to 4%. Read More

Trials 2020 Jun 12;21(1):520. Epub 2020 Jun 12.

Tianyou Hospital, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430064, Hubei, China.

Objectives: To assess the safety and therapeutic effects of allogeneic human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) in treating severe pneumonia caused by COVID-19.

Trial Design: This is a single centre, two arm ratio 1:1, triple blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel group, clinical trial.

Participants: Twenty serious COVID-19 cases will be enrolled in the trial from April 6th to December 31st 2020. Read More

Am J Transplant 2020 Jun 12. Epub 2020 Jun 12.

Starzl Transplantation Institute, Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

The International Workshop on Clinical Transplant Tolerance is a biennial meeting that aims to provide an update on the progress of studies of immunosuppression minimization or withdrawal in solid organ transplantation. The Fourth International Workshop on Clinical Tolerance was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September 5-6, 2019. This report is a summary of presentations on the status of clinical trials designed to minimize or withdraw immunosuppressive drugs in kidney, liver and lung transplantation, without subsequent evidence of rejection. Read More

J Heart Lung Transplant 2020 May 15. Epub 2020 May 15.

Department of Cardiac Surgery, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.

Background: The demand for donated human hearts far exceeds the number available. Xenotransplantation of genetically modified porcine organs provides an alternative. In 2000, an Advisory Board of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation set the benchmark for commencing clinical cardiac xenotransplantation as consistent 60% survival of non-human primates after life-supporting porcine heart transplantations. Read More

J Heart Lung Transplant 2020 May 26. Epub 2020 May 26.

Division of Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine II, University Hospital Giessen and Marburg, Giessen, Germany; German Centre for Lung Research (DZL), Universities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Centre (UGMLC), Giessen, Germany; Department of Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine, St. Vincentius-Clinics, Karlsruhe, Germany.

Am J Transplant 2020 Jun 10. Epub 2020 Jun 10.

Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Houston, TX, USA.

SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus responsible for a worldwide pandemic has forced drastic changes in medical practice in an alarmingly short period of time. Caregivers must modify their strategies as well as optimize the utilization of resources to ensure public and patient safety. For organ transplantation, in particular, the loss of life-saving organs for transplantation could lead to increased waitlist mortality. Read More

Laryngoscope 2020 Jun 10. Epub 2020 Jun 10.

Center of Regenerative Medicine, Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus.

Objectives/hypothesis: The ideal trachea replacement would be a living graft that is genetically identical to the host, avoiding the need for immunosuppression. We have developed a mouse model of syngeneic tracheal transplant that results in long-term survival without graft stenosis or delayed healing. To understand how host cells contribute to tracheal transplant integration, we quantified the populations of host cells in the graft and native trachea following implant. Read More

J Bras Pneumol 2020 Jun 5;46(3):e20190273. Epub 2020 Jun 5.

. Departamento de Cardiopneumologia, Disciplina de Cirurgia Torácica, Instituto do Coração - InCor - Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo (SP) Brasil.

Blood 2020 Jun 9. Epub 2020 Jun 9.

Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States.

We developed a risk score to predict event-free survival (EFS; the probability of being alive with donor engraftment) after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for sickle cell disease. The study population (n=1425) was randomly split into training (n=1070) and validation (n=355) cohorts. Cox regression models were built to identify and validate risk factors. Read More

Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2020 Jun 12;17:1190-1201. Epub 2020 May 12.

Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, 30-387 Kraków, Poland.

Systemically delivered adeno-associated viral vector serotype 9 (AAV9) effectively transduces murine heart, but provides transgene expression also in liver and skeletal muscles. Improvement of the selectivity of transgene expression can be achieved through incorporation of target sites (TSs) for miRNA-122 and miRNA-206 into the 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) of the expression cassette. Here, we aimed to generate such miRNA-122- and miRNA-206-regulated AAV9 vector for a therapeutic, heart-specific overexpression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). Read More

Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2020 Jun 9. Epub 2020 Jun 9.

St Michael's Hospital in Toronto, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Keenan Research Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Mechanical ventilation can cause acute diaphragm atrophy and injury and this is associated with poor clinical outcomes. While the importance and impact of lung-protective ventilation is widely appreciated and well-established, the concept of diaphragm-protective ventilation has recently emerged as a potential complementary therapeutic strategy. This Perspective, developed from discussions at a meeting of international experts convened by the Pleural Pressure Working Group of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, outlines a conceptual framework for an integrated lung and diaphragm-protective approach to mechanical ventilation based on growing evidence about mechanisms of injury. Read More

Transpl Int 2020 Jun 8. Epub 2020 Jun 8.

Cardiac Surgery Division, Surgical Sciences Department, Heart and Lung Transplant Center, Città della Salute e della Scienza University Hospital of Torino, Torino, Italy.

J Cell Physiol 2020 Jun 8. Epub 2020 Jun 8.

Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Our previous studies have demonstrated that platelet-targeted factor IX (FIX) gene therapy can introduce sustained platelet-FIX expression in hemophilia B (FIX ) mice. In this study, we aimed to enhance platelet-FIX expression in FIX mice with O -methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase (MGMT)-mediated in vivo drug selection of transduced cells under nonmyeloablative preconditioning. We constructed a novel lentiviral vector (2bF9/MGMT lentivirus vector), which harbors dual genes, the FIX gene driven by the αIIb promoter (2bF9) and the MGMT P140K gene under the murine stem cell virus promoter. Read More

Front Physiol 2020 20;11:435. Epub 2020 May 20.

Sickle Cell Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States.

Sickle cell anemia (SCA) was first described in the Western literature more than 100 years ago. Elucidation of its molecular basis prompted numerous biochemical and genetic studies that have contributed to a better understanding of its pathophysiology. Unfortunately, the translation of such knowledge into developing treatments has been disproportionately slow and elusive. Read More

J Heart Lung Transplant 2020 Apr 25. Epub 2020 Apr 25.

Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California. Electronic address:

To understand the challenges for thoracic transplantation and mechanical circulatory support during the current coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, we propose separating the effects of the pandemic into 5 distinct stages from a healthcare system perspective. We discuss how the classical ethical principles of utility, justice, and efficiency may need to be adapted, and we give specific recommendations for thoracic transplantation and mechanical circulatory support centers to balance their clinical decisions and strategies for advanced heart and lung disease during the current pandemic. Read More

J Heart Lung Transplant 2020 May 11. Epub 2020 May 11.

Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplantation, Ascension St. Vincent Hospital, Indianapolis, Indiana.

J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 2020 Jun 3. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Department of Internal Medicine, Cochin Hospital, Paris, France; National Referral Centre for Systemic and Autoimmune Diseases, Cochin Hospital, Paris, France; Paris Descartes University, Université de Paris, Paris, France. Electronic address:

J Heart Lung Transplant 2020 06 19;39(6):614-615. Epub 2020 Apr 19.

Heart Transplantation Unit, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel; Tel Aviv University Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv, Israel.

J Heart Lung Transplant 2020 Jun 13;39(6):563-570. Epub 2020 Feb 13.

Division of Developmental Immunology, La Jolla Institute for Immunology and Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, California.

Background: Currently, there are no clinically approved treatments for ischemia-reperfusion injury after lung transplantation. Pre-clinical animal models have demonstrated a promising efficacy of adenosine receptor (AR) agonists as a treatment option for reducing ischemia-reperfusion injury. The purpose of this human study, is to conduct a Phase I clinical trial for evaluating the safety of continuous infusion of an AR agonist in lung transplant recipients. Read More

J Heart Lung Transplant 2020 Jun 21;39(6):501-517. Epub 2020 Apr 21.

Department of Surgery, Division of Thoracic Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.

Heart and lung procurements are multiphased processes often accompanied by an array of complex logistics. Approaches to donor evaluation and management, organ procurement, and organ preservation vary among individual procurement teams. Because early graft failure remains a major cause of mortality in contemporary thoracic organ transplant recipients, we sought to establish some standardization in the procurement process. Read More

Kardiol Pol 2020 Jun 5. Epub 2020 Jun 5.

J Card Surg 2020 Jun 5. Epub 2020 Jun 5.

Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the Miami VA Healthcare System, Miami, Florida.

Transplantation 2020 Jun 1. Epub 2020 Jun 1.

Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX 77030.

Background: The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) poses unique challenges for immunosuppressed patients. Solid organ transplant recipients (SOT) comprise a large proportion of this group, yet there is limited knowledge about the presentation, clinical course and immunosuppression management of this novel infection among heart, lung, liver, pancreas and kidney transplant recipients.

Methods: We present 21 SOT diagnosed with COVID-19 between January 1, 2020 - April 22, 2020 at a US high-volume transplant center. Read More