Allocation Out of Sequence in Lung Transplant: An Analysis of the UNOS Registry.

Importance: Allocation out of sequence (AOOS) allows organ procurement organizations (OPOs) to offer organs outside of standard allocation and bypass those atop the match run. AOOS may allow OPOs to successfully place medically complex organs; however, increasing use of AOOS also raises concern for inefficiencies within the allocation process and may exacerbate systemic inequities.

Objective: To characterize patterns of lung AOOS among organ procurement organizations and transplant centers and compare lung transplant characteristics and outcomes between in-sequence and AOOS groups.

Perioperative Bleeding Risk in Lung Transplantation After Previous Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Introduction: Previous cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) is associated with a significant risk of perioperative bleeding in lung transplantation (LT). The types of prior surgery have not been well-defined. We aimed to quantify the risk of perioperative bleeding in LT based on a history of previous CTS.

Use of Normothermic Regional Perfusion in Circulatory Death Donors for Lung Transplantation in the United States.

Introduction: Use of normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) to recover donation after circulatory death (DCD) organs demonstrates increased heart utilization with favorable outcomes. Conversely, DCD lung allograft use when NRP was employed remains controversial. This is a contemporary analysis of DCD lung recipient outcomes in which NRP was used.

Thoracoabdominal Normothermic Regional Perfusion and Donation After Circulatory Death Lung Use.

Importance: Donation after circulatory death (DCD) heart procurement has increased, but concerns remain about the effect of simultaneous heart and lung procurement, particularly with thoracoabdominal normothermic regional perfusion (TA-NRP), on the use of DCD lungs. Previous analyses exclude critical donor factors and organ nonuse, and rapidly rising DCD use may bias comparisons to historical controls.

Objective: To use validated risk-adjusted models to assess whether DCD heart procurement via TA-NRP and direct procurement is associated with lung use.

The 2024 American Association for Thoracic Surgery expert consensus document: Current standards in donor lung procurement and preservation.

Background: Donor lung procurement and preservation is critical for lung transplantation success. Unfortunately, the large variability in techniques impacts organ utilization rates and transplantation outcomes. Compounding this variation, recent developments in cold static preservation and new technological advances with machine perfusion have increased the complexity of the procedure.

Predictors of donation after circulatory death lung utilization and allograft survival.

Background: Understanding donor factors associated with successful lung transplantation (LTx) following donation after circulatory death (DCD) is important in optimizing donor management. In this study, we examined critical care and ventilatory factors associated with DCD LTx and allograft survival using a unique detailed donor management database.

Methods: The Donor Management Goals national registry was queried for DCD donors between January 2016 and July 2023.

Donor and recipient factors associated with primary graft dysfunction following lung transplantation: A donor management goal registry analysis.

Background: Current risk-adjusted models for predicting primary graft dysfunction (PGD) following lung transplantation (LTx) do not include bedside donor critical care data. Donor management goals (DMGs) represent predefined critical care endpoints aimed at optimizing multiorgan donor management. Here we sought to identify novel predictors to better understand the relationship between donor management and PGD following LTx.

The impact of bleeding on outcomes following lung transplantation: a retrospective analysis using the universal definition of perioperative bleeding.

Background: Lung transplantation (LT) represents a high-risk procedure for end-stage lung diseases. This study describes the outcomes of patients undergoing LT that require massive transfusions as defined by the universal definition of perioperative bleeding (UDPB).

Methods: Adult patients who underwent bilateral LT at a single academic center were surveyed retrospectively.

Efforts to improve the billing accuracy of robotic-assisted thoracic surgery through education, updated procedure cards, and electronic medical record system changes.

Precise medical billing is essential for decreasing hospital liability, upholding environmental stewardship and ensuring fair costs for patients. We instituted a multifaceted approach to improve the billing accuracy of our robotic-assisted thoracic surgery programme by including an educational component, updating procedure cards and removing the auto-populating function of our electronic medical record. Overall, we saw significant improvements in both the number of inaccurate billing cases and, specifically, the number of cases that overcharged patients.

Short-term outcomes after third-time lung transplantation: A single institution experience.

Background: Reoperative lung transplantation (LTx) survival has improved over time such that a growing number of patients may present for third-time LTx (L3Tx). To understand the safety of L3Tx, we evaluated perioperative outcomes and 3-year survival after L3Tx at a high-volume US LTx center.

Methods: This retrospective study included all patients who underwent bilateral L3Tx at our institution.

Impact of simultaneous heart procurement on outcomes of donation after circulatory death lung transplantation.

Donation after circulatory death (DCD) heart procurement is done using either direct procurement (DP) or thoracoabdominal normothermic machine perfusion (TA-NRP). Both approaches could impact lung transplant outcomes with combined heart and lung procurements from the same donor. The impact of such practice on DCD lung transplant remains unstudied.

Computed Tomography Volumetrics for Size Matching in Lung Transplantation for Restrictive Disease.

Background: There is no consensus on the optimal allograft sizing strategy for lung transplantation in restrictive lung disease. Current methods that are based on predicted total lung capacity (pTLC) ratios do not account for the diminutive recipient chest size. The study investigators hypothesized that a new sizing ratio incorporating preoperative recipient computed tomographic lung volumes (CTVol) would be associated with postoperative outcomes.

A Randomized, Multicenter, Blinded Pilot Study Assessing the Effects of Gaseous Nitric Oxide in an Ex Vivo System of Human Lungs.

Introduction: Normothermic ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) is used to evaluate and condition donor lungs for transplantation. The objective of this study was to determine whether administration of exogenous nitric oxide during EVLP contributes to improvement of lung health.

Methods: A multicenter, blinded, two-arm, randomized pilot study evaluated the effect of gaseous nitric oxide (gNO) administered during EVLP on donor lungs rejected for transplantation.

Textbook outcome in lung transplantation: Planned venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation versus off-pump support for patients without pulmonary hypertension.

Background: Planned venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) is increasingly used during bilateral orthotopic lung transplantation (BOLT) and may be superior to off-pump support for patients without pulmonary hypertension. In this single-institution study, we compared rates of textbook outcome between BOLTs performed with planned VA ECMO or off-pump support for recipients with no or mild pulmonary hypertension.

Methods: Patients with no or mild pulmonary hypertension who underwent isolated BOLT between 1/2017 and 2/2021 with planned off-pump or VA ECMO support were included.

Same-teams versus different-teams for long distance lung procurement: A cost analysis.

Objective: In an era of broader lung sharing, different-team transplantation (DT, procuring team from nonrecipient center) may streamline procurement logistics; however, safety and cost implications of DT remain unclear. To understand whether DT represents a safe means to reduce lung transplant (LTx) costs, we compared posttransplant outcomes and lung procurement and index hospitalization costs among matched DT and same-team transplantation (ST, procuring team from recipient center) cohorts at a single, high-volume institution. We hypothesized that DT reduces costs without compromising outcomes after LTx.

Textbook surgical outcome in lung transplantation: Analysis of a US national registry.

Intro: Textbook surgical outcome (TO) is a novel composite quality measure in lung transplantation (LTx). Compared to 1-year survival metrics, TO may better differentiate center performance, and motivate improvements in care. To understand the feasibility of implementing this metric, we defined TO in LTx using US national data, and evaluated its ability to predict post-transplant outcomes and differentiate center performance.

Lung retransplantation in the modern era.

Chronic lung allograft dysfunction remains the leading cause of long-term morbidity and mortality for lung transplant recipients. Lung retransplantation currently represents the only therapeutic option for patients for refractory allograft dysfunction. However, debate remains regarding both the efficacy and ethicality of lung retransplantation in light of the shortage of lung allografts.

Inhaled Pulmonary Vasodilator Therapy in Adult Lung Transplant: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) is commonly administered for selectively inhaled pulmonary vasodilation and prevention of oxidative injury after lung transplant (LT). Inhaled epoprostenol (iEPO) has been introduced worldwide as a cost-saving alternative to iNO without high-grade evidence for this indication.

Objective: To investigate whether the use of iEPO will lead to similar rates of severe/grade 3 primary graft dysfunction (PGD-3) after adult LT when compared with use of iNO.

Lung transplantation after ex vivo lung perfusion versus static cold storage: An institutional cost analysis.

Ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) is a novel lung preservation strategy that facilitates the use of marginal allografts; however, it is more expensive than static cold storage (SCS). To understand how preservation method might affect postoperative costs, we compared outcomes and index hospitalization costs among matched EVLP and SCS preserved lung transplant (LTx) recipients at a single, high-volume institution. A total of 22 EVLP and 66 matched SCS LTx recipients were included; SCS grafts were further stratified as either standard-criteria (SCD) or extended-criteria donors (ECD).