Trends and Patterns in Reporting of Patient Safety Situations in Transplantation

Analysis and dissemination of transplant patient safety data are essential to understanding key issues facing the transplant community and fostering a “culture of safety.” The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network's (OPTN) Operations and Safety Committee de‐identified safety situations reported through several mechanisms, including the OPTN's online patient safety portal, through which the number of reported cases has risen sharply. From 2012 to 2013, 438 events were received through either the online portal or other reporting pathways, and about half were self‐reports. Communication breakdowns (22.8%) and testing issues (16.0%) were the most common types. Events included preventable errors that led to organ discard as well as near misses. Among events reported by Organ Procurement Organization (OPOs), half came from just 10 of the 58 institutions, while half of events reported by transplant centers came from just 21 of 250 institutions. Thirteen (23%) OPOs and 155 (62%) transplant centers reported no events, suggesting substantial underreporting of safety‐related errors to the national database. This is the first comprehensive, published report of the OPTN's safety efforts. Our goals are to raise awareness of safety data recently reported to the OPTN, encourage additional reporting, and spur systems improvements to mitigate future risk.     

A Registry Analysis of Damage to the Deceased Donor Pancreas During Procurement

Surgical injury to the pancreas is thought to occur commonly during procurement. The UK Transplant Registry was analyzed to determine the frequency of pancreatic injuries, identify factors associated with damage, and assess the impact of injuries on graft survival. Twelve hundred ninety‐six pancreata were procured from donation after brain death donors, with 314 (19.5%) from donation after circulatory death donors. More than 50% of recovered pancreata had at least one injury, most commonly a short portal vein (21.5%). Liver donation, procurement team origin, hepatic artery (HA) arising from the superior mesenteric artery (SMA), and increasing donor BMI were associated with increased rates of pancreas damage on univariate analyses; on multivariate analysis only the presence of an HA from the SMA remained significant (p = 0.02). Six hundred forty solid organ pancreas transplants were performed; 238 had some form of damage. Overall, there was no difference in graft survival between damaged and undamaged organs (p = 0.28); however, graft loss was significantly more frequent in pancreata with arterial damage (p = 0.04) and in those with parenchymal damage (p = 0.05). Damage to the pancreas during organ recovery is more common than other organs, and meticulous surgical technique and awareness of damage risk factors are essential to reduce rates of procurement‐related injuries.     

Outcome of Transplantation Using Organs From Donors Infected or Colonized With Carbapenem‐Resistant Gram‐Negative Bacteria

Donor‐derived infections due to multidrug‐resistant bacteria are a growing problem in solid organ transplantation, and optimal management options are not clear. In a 2‐year period, 30/214 (14%) recipients received an organ from 18/170 (10.5%) deceased donors with infection or colonization caused by a carbapenem‐resistant gram‐negative bacteria that was unknown at the time of transplantation. Among them, 14/30 recipients (47%) received a transplant from a donor with bacteremia or with infection/colonization of the transplanted organ and were considered at high risk of donor‐derived infection transmission. The remaining 16/30 (53%) recipients received an organ from a nonbacteremic donor with colonization of a nontransplanted organ and were considered at low risk of infection transmission. Proven transmission occurred in 4 of the 14 high‐risk recipients because donor infection was either not recognized, underestimated, or not communicated. These recipients received late, short or inappropriate posttransplant antibiotic therapy. Transmission did not occur in high‐risk recipients who received appropriate and prompt antibiotic therapy for at least 7 days. The safe use of organs from donors with multidrug‐resistant bacteria requires intra‐ and inter‐institutional communication to allow appropriate management and prompt treatment of recipients in order to avoid transmission of infection.     

Successful Transplantation of Kidneys From Elderly Circulatory Death Donors by Using Microscopic and Macroscopic Characteristics to Guide Single or Dual Implantation

Most kidneys from potential elderly circulatory death (DCD) donors are declined. We report single center outcomes for kidneys transplanted from DCD donors over 70 years old, using preimplantation biopsy Remuzzi grading to inform implantation as single or dual transplants. Between 2009 and 2012, 43 single transplants and 12 dual transplants were performed from elderly DCD donors. Remuzzi scores were higher for dual than single implants (4.4 vs. 3.4, p < 0.001), indicating more severe baseline injury. Donor and recipient characteristics for both groups were otherwise similar. Early graft loss from renal vein thrombosis occurred in two singly implanted kidneys, and in one dual‐implanted kidney; its pair continued to function satisfactorily. Death‐censored graft survival at 3 years was comparable for the two groups (single 94%; dual 100%), as was 1 year eGFR. Delayed graft function occurred less frequently in the dual‐implant group (25% vs. 65%, p = 0.010). Using this approach, we performed proportionally more kidney transplants from elderly DCD donors (23.4%) than the rest of the United Kingdom (7.3%, p < 0.001), with graft outcomes comparable to those achieved nationally for all deceased‐donor kidney transplants. Preimplantation biopsy analysis is associated with acceptable transplant outcomes for elderly DCD kidneys and may increase transplant numbers from an underutilized donor pool.     

Impact of emerging hepatitis C virus treatments on future needs for liver transplantation in France: A modelling approach

BackgroundIn light of the impact of emerging hepatitis C virus treatments on morbidity and mortality, we sought to determine whether candidates for liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma and decompensated cirrhosis will decrease sufficiently to match liver grafts for hepatitis C virus-infected patients.AimsUsing a Markov model, we quantified future liver graft needs for hepatitis C virus-induced diseases and estimated the impact of current and emerging treatments.MethodsWe simulated progression of yearly-hepatitis-C-virus-infected cohorts from the beginning of the epidemic and calculated 2013–2022 candidates for liver transplantation up until 2022 without and with therapies. We compared these estimated numbers to projected trends in liver grafts for hepatitis C virus.ResultsOverall, current treatment would avoid transplantation of 4425 (4183–4684) potential candidates during the period 2013–2022. It would enable an 88% and 42% reduction in the gap between liver transplantation activity and candidates for hepatocellular carcinoma and decompensated cirrhosis, respectively. Emerging hepatitis C virus treatments would allow adequacy in transplant activities for hepatocellular carcinoma. However, they would not lead to adequacy in decompensated cirrhosis from 2013 to 2022. Results were robust to sensitivity analysis.ConclusionOur study indicates that patients will benefit from public health policies regarding hepatitis C virus screening and therapeutic access to new emerging treatments.     

基于洛伦兹曲线和基尼系数的中国全科医生资源配置公平性研究

背景　全科医生资源配置是评价卫生公平性的基础性指标之一,目前我国关于全科医生资源配置公平性的研究多局限于单一年份或区域性数据,缺乏对全国性数据动态变化趋势的研究。目的　对2013-2017年我国全科医生资源配置公平性进行分析,旨在为优化全科医生资源配置、加强对全科医生资源的科学管理提供参考依据。方法　以2014-2017年的《中国卫生和计划生育统计年鉴》和2018年的《中国卫生健康统计年鉴》为资料来源,收集2013-2017年全国及各地区全科医生数,并运用洛伦兹曲线和基尼系数对2013-2017年我国全科医生资源配置公平性进行分析。结果　2013-2017年,我国全科医生数从145 511人增加到252 717人,增加了107 206人;每万人口全科医生数从1.07人增加到1.82人,增加了0.75人。我国全科医生按服务人口分布的洛伦兹曲线比较接近绝对公平线,按服务面积分布的洛伦兹曲线偏离绝对公平线程度较大。2013-2017年按服务人口分布的基尼系数分别为0.29、0.26、0.25、0.24、0.24,按服务面积分布的基尼系数分别为0.73、0.72、0.72、0.72、0.73。结论　我国全科医生按服务人口配置公平性优于按服务面积配置公平性,按服务人口配置公平性在正常状态,而按服务面积配置公平性呈高度危险状态,政府应采取措施加强不同区域间全科医生资源的协调发展。     

家庭医生团队下家庭医生助理的服务模式研究

背景　在加速推进家庭医生责任制服务进程中,为家庭医生配置类似助手的角色,可有效提升家庭医生的服务效率,该助手角色通常被称为家庭医生助理。上海、北京等社区卫生服务中心已经构建了以家庭医生为核心和责任主体的、护士作为主要助理人员的服务模式。但对于家庭医生团队的核心人员结构、家庭医生助理的人员特征、工作范围和薪酬体制等还缺少统一的标准。目的　了解国内外家庭医生助理的服务模式运行现况,为我国家庭医生助理的服务模式建设提供借鉴。方法　于2019年11月5-20日,选择PubMed、ScienceDirect、中国知网（CNKI）和万方数据知识服务平台为文献搜索引擎,在数据库中检索与家庭医生助理模式（包括家庭医生助理的人员配置及人员特征、主要职责及服务内容、绩效考核方式及分配方式等）相关的文献,检索时间范围为2009-2019年,检索词（主题词或关键词）为“family physician assistant”OR“general practitioner assistant”OR“全科医生助理”OR“家庭医生助理”OR“家庭医生”AND“助理”OR“全科医生”AND“助理”。通过评阅文献内容,总结国内外家庭医生助理模式开展现状。结果　阅读全文后最终获得符合要求的文献47篇,其中英文文献31篇,中文文献16篇。家庭医生助理主要由专职医生助理、护士、公共卫生医生、乡村医生、“3+2”助理全科医生担任;人员特征方面,国外的医生助理通常为接受过“医生助理”项目培训并取得相应资格或学历的专业人员;中国承担家庭医生助理的专职医生助理主要由非医学专业人员经过岗位培训后担任,担任家庭医生助理的护士、公共卫生医生和乡村医生都是由社区卫生服务中心在岗的卫生专业人员兼任。家庭医生助理的职责范围在不同国家有不同的规定,主要包括患者治疗方案的实施、健康管理、健康宣教、患者分诊、健康初步评估、慢性病随访等。在绩效考核方式方面,国外家庭医生助理一般由机构根据统一的考核指标体系进行考核,或由家庭医生直接对助理进行考核;中国家庭医生助理的绩效考核方式包括二级考核,机构质控部门统一考核,涉及全中心的工作内容由机构统一考核、与家庭医生工作相关内容由家庭医生考核。结论　国内外家庭医生助理在人员特征、主要职责和绩效考核分配方式上存在较大差异,建议构建以“全科医生+护士/乡村医生”或“全科医生+专职助理”为核心人员的家庭医生服务团队,分类设立家庭医生助理的岗位职责和服务内容,建立以“医疗技术的复杂程度”“服务质量”“工作数量”作为主要绩效考核指标的薪酬分配制度。