Recipient functional status impacts on short and long-term intestinal transplant outcomes in United States adults

BACKGROUND Recipient functional status prior to transplantation has been found to impact post-transplant outcomes in heart,liver and kidney transplants.However,information on how functional status,before and after transplant impacts post-transplant survival outcomes is lacking.AIM To investigate the impact of recipient functional status on short and long term intestinal transplant outcomes in United States adults.METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study on 1254 adults who underwent first-time intestinal transplantation from 2005 to 2022.The primary outcome was mortality.Using the Karnofsky Performance Status,functional impairment was categorized as severe,moderate and normal.Analyses were conducted using Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariable Cox regression.RESULTS The median age was 41 years,majority(53.4%)were women.Severe impairment was present in 28.3%of recipients.The median survival time was 906.6 days.The median survival time was 1331 and 560 days for patients with normal and severe functional impairment respectively.Recipients with severe impairment had a 56%higher risk of mortality at one year[Hazard ratio(HR)=1.56;95%CI:1.23–1.98;P<0.001]and 58%at five years(HR=1.58;95%CI:1.24–2.00;P<0.001)compared to patients with no functional impairment.Recipients with worse functional status after transplant also had poor survival outcomes.CONCLUSION Pre-and post-transplant recipient functional status is an important prognostic indicator for short-and long-term intestinal transplant outcomes.

Vanishing bile duct syndrome in Hodgkin's lymphoma: A case report and literature review

Vanishing bile duct syndrome (VBDS) has been described in different pathologic conditions including infection, ischemia, adverse drug reactions, autoimmune diseases, allograft rejection, and humoral factors associated with malignancy. It is an acquired condition characterized by progressive destruction and loss of the intra-hepatic bile ducts leading to cholestasis. Prognosis is variable and partially dependent upon the etiology of bile duct injury. Irreversible bile duct loss leads to significant ductopenia, biliary cirrhosis, liver failure, and death. If biliary epithelial regeneration occurs, clinical recovery may occur over a period of months to years. VBDS has been described in a number of cases of patients with Hodgkin&#x02019;s lymphoma (HL) where it is thought to be a paraneoplastic phenomenon. This case describes a 25-year-old man found on liver biopsy to have VBDS. Given poor response to medical treatment, the patient underwent transplant evaluation at that time and was found to have classical stage IIB HL. Early recognition of this underlying cause or association of VBDS, including laboratory screening, and physical exam for lymphadenopathy are paramount to identifying potential underlying VBDS-associated malignancy. Here we review the literature of HL-associated VBDS and report a case of diagnosed HL with biopsy proven VBDS.

Endoscopic ultrasound in the diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma as the etiology of biliary strictures:a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background and aim:Extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma(CCA)typically presents as biliary strictures.Endoscopic ultrasound(EUS)-fine needle aspiration(FNA)may contribute to the diagnosis of CCA as the etiology of extrahepatic biliary strictures.Our aim was to study the uselfulness of EUS-FNA in diagnosing CCA as the etiology of biliary strictures.Patients and methods:In this meta-analysis,PUBMED and EMBASE databases were examined to find studies published to April 2014 where diagnostic correlation of CCA was available.Studies reporting only‘‘positive for malignancy’’were included in our analysis.The main outcome measurements were sensitivity,specificity and likelihood ratio.Results:Six studies were included,covering 196 patients.The overall pooled sensitivity and negative likelihood ratio(LR-)of EUS-FNA for diagnosis of CCA were 66%[95%confidence interval(CI)57-74%]and 0.34(95%CI 0.26-0.43),respectively.In five studies(146 patients),where a mass lesion was detected during EUS,the pooled sensitivity and LR-of EUS-FNA for diagnosis of CCA were 80%[95%CI 72-87%]and 0.20(95%CI 0.13-0.28),respectively.In the 49 patients with a negative brush cytology,the pooled sensitivity and LR-of EUS-FNA for diagnosis of CCA were 59%[95%CI 44-73%]and 0.41(95%CI 0.27-0.56),respectively.Conclusions:Our study suggests that EUS-FNA is useful in the evaluation of CCA as the etiology of biliary strictures.EUS-FNA may improve the diagnosis of CCA in patients with negative cytology and no mass on cross-sectional imaging.