Primary graft dysfunction following lung transplantation:From pathogenesis to future frontiers

Lung transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients with end-stage lung disease.Currently,just under 5000 lung transplants are performed worldwide annually.However,a major scourge leading to 90-d and 1-year mortality remains primary graft dysfunction.It is a spectrum of lung injury ranging from mild to severe depending on the level of hypoxaemia and lung injury post-transplant.This review aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the epidemiology,pathophysiology,risk factors,outcomes,and future frontiers involved in mitigating primary graft dysfunction.The current diagnostic criteria are examined alongside changes from the previous definition.We also highlight the issues surrounding chronic lung allograft dysfunction and identify the novel therapies available for ex-vivo lung perfusion.Although primary graft dysfunction remains a significant contributor to 90-d and 1-year mortality,ongoing research and development abreast with current technological advancements have shed some light on the issue in pursuit of future diagnostic and therapeutic tools.

Primary graft dysfunction after liver transplantation

BACKGROUND: Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) causes complications in liver transplantation, which result in poor prognosis. Recipients who develop PGD usually experience a longer intensive care unit and hospital stay and have higher mortality and graft loss rates compared with those without graft dysfunction. However, because of the lack of universally accepted definition, early diagnosis of graft dysfunction is difficult. Additionally, numerous factors affect the allograft function after transplantation, making the prediction of PGD more difficult. The present review was to analyze the literature available on PGD and to propose a definition.DATA SOURCE: A search of PubMed (up to the end of 2012) for English-language articles relevant to PGD was performed to clarify the characteristics, risk factors, and possible treatments or interventions for PGD.RESULTS: There is no pathological diagnostic standard; many documented definitions of PGD are different. Many factors such as donor status, procurement and transplant process and recipient illness may affect the function of graft, and ischemia reperfusion injury is considered the direct cause. Potentia managements which are helpful to improve graft function were investigated. Some of them are promising.CONCLUSIONS: Our analyses suggested that the definition of PGD should include one or more of the following variables: (1)bilirubin ≥10 mg/dL on postoperative day 7; (2) internationa normalized ratio ≥1.6 on postoperative day 7; and (3) alanine aminotransferase or aspartate aminotransferase 】2000 IU/L within 7 postoperative days. Reducing risk factors may decrease the incidence of PGD. A majority of the recipients could recover from PGD; however, when the graft progresses intoprimary non-function, the patients need to be treated with retransplantation.

Portal vein arterialization in 25 liver transplant recipients:A Latin American single-center experience

BACKGROUND Portal vein arterialization(PVA)has been used in liver transplantation(LT)to maximize oxygen delivery when arterial circulation is compromised or has been used as an alternative reperfusion technique for complex portal vein thrombosis(PVT).The effect of PVA on portal perfusion and primary graft dysfunction(PGD)has not been assessed.All patients receiving PVA and LT at the Fundacion Santa Fe de Bogota between 2011 and 2022 were analyzed.To account for the time-sensitive effects of graft perfusion,patients were classified into two groups:prereperfusion(pre-PVA),if the arterioportal anastomosis was performed before graft revascularization,and postreperfusion(post-PVA),if PVA was performed afterward.The pre-PVA rationale contemplated poor portal hemodynamics,severe vascular steal,or PVT.Post-PVA was considered if graft hypoperfusion became evident.Conservative interventions were attempted before PVA.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in lung transplantation:Indications,techniques and results

The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation(ECMO)in the field of lung transplantation has rapidly expanded over the past 30 years.It has become an important tool in an increasing number of specialized centers as a bridge to transplantation and in the intra-operative and/or post-operative setting.ECMO is an extremely versatile tool in the field of lung transplantation as it can be used and adapted in different configurations with several potential cannulation sites according to the specific need of the recipient.For example,patients who need to be bridged to lung transplantation often have hypercapnic respiratory failure that may preferably benefit from veno-venous(VV)ECMO or peripheral veno-arterial(VA)ECMO in the case of hemodynamic instability.Moreover,in an intraoperative setting,VV ECMO can be maintained or switched to a VA ECMO.The routine use of intra-operative ECMO and its eventual prolongation in the postoperative period has been widely investigated in recent years by several important lung transplantation centers in order to assess the graft function and its potential protective role on primary graft dysfunction and on ischemia-reperfusion injury.This review will assess the current evidence on the role of ECMO in the different phases of lung transplantation,while analyzing different studies on pre,intra-and post-operative utilization of this extracorporeal support.

Factors affecting complications development and mortality after single lung transplant

Lung transplantation(LT)is a life-saving therapeutic procedure that prolongs survival in patients with end-stage lung disease.Furthermore,as a therapeutic option for high-risk candidates,single LT(SLT)can be feasible because the immediate morbidity and mortality after transplantation are lower compared to sequential single(double)LT(SSLTx).Still,the long-term overall survival is,in general,better for SSLTx.Despite the great success over the years,the early post-SLT period remains a perilous time for these patients.Patients who undergo SLT are predisposed to evolving early or late postoperative complications.This review emphasizes factors leading to post-SLT complications in the early and late periods including primary graft dysfunction and chronic lung allograft dysfunction,native lung complications,anastomosis complications,infections,cardiovascular,gastrointestinal,renal,and metabolite complications,and their association with morbidity and mortality in these patients.Furthermore,we discuss the incidence of malignancy after SLT and their correlation with immunosuppression therapy.