The Transplant Nephrology Workforce in the United States: Current State and Future Directions

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A National Survey Assessing the Current Workforce of Transplant Pharmacists Across Accredited U.S. Solid Organ Transplant Programs

Integration of pharmacists into multidisciplinary transplant patient care has advanced in recent years, with limited data available to evaluate the current status of the profession. This was a national survey developed as an AST Pharmacy COP initiative. Responses were solicited from pharmacists practicing at U.S. transplant programs based on UNOS listing; 176 participants from 113 centers (41%) responded, with 79% practicing ≤10 years. There is a median of 1.4 pharmacist full‐time equivalents (FTEs) (range 0.1–7.1) for every 100 transplants. The predominant activities performed by pharmacists during the transplant phase include medication review (95%), lab review (92%), allergy review (88%), medication therapy management (92%), bedside rounds (87%), medication education (79%), documentation (71%), and coordinating discharge medications (58%). Similar activities were reported during the other phases, but participation was less common. The involvement of dedicated transplant pharmacists within multidisciplinary care has become standard at a large number of centers, although expansion is still needed to ensure core pharmaceutical care components are provided to all transplant recipients across all centers. These results inform on the typical responsibilities of pharmacists practicing within the field of transplantation and illustrate that the level of pharmacist involvement significantly varies across transplant centers and the phases of transplantation.     

疝和腹壁外科的现状与进展

疝是普通外科的常见病和多发病 ,是外科基本技术教育的重要内容之一 ,长期以来受到普外各级医师的重视。 1989年 ,Ｌｉｃｈｔｅｎｓｔｅｉｎ在《美国外科杂志》上提出了无张力疝修补手术 (ｔｅｎｓｉｏｎ ｆｒｅｅｈｅｒｎｉａｒｅｐａｉｒ)的新概念。 1993年 ,全竹富、黎介寿首先在《临床外科杂志》(原普外临床 )上较全面介绍了这个新概念及其手术方法。在这前后 ,已有一些外科医师在手术治疗老年疝、复发疝时使用了碳纤维网、涤纶片等人工合成材料。 1997年 9月 ,笔者在我国率先开展了疝环充填式无张力疝修补术 (ｐｌｕｇｍｅｓｈｈｅｒｎ…     

Insulin therapies: Current and future trends at dawn

Insulin is a key player in the control of hyperglycemia for type 1 diabetes patients and selective individuals in patients of type 2 diabetes. Insulin delivery systems that are currently available for the administration of insulin include insulin syringes, insulin infusion pumps, jet injectors and pens. The traditional and most predictable method for the administration of insulin is by subcutaneous injections. The major drawback of current forms of insulin therapy is their invasive nature. To decrease the suffering, the use of supersonic injectors, infusion pumps, sharp needles and pens has been adopted. Such invasive and intensive techniques have spurred the search for alternative, more acceptable methods for administering insulin. Several non-invasive approaches for insulin delivery are being pursued. The newer methods explored include the artificial pancreas with closedloop system, transdermal insulin, and buccal, oral and pulmonary routes. This review focuses on the new concepts that are being explored for use in future.     

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Surgery in Renal,Cardiac and Hepatic Transplant Recipients

With advancements in transplantation and improved long-term allograft survival, the once rare clinical scenario of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in a patient with a functioning allograft has become much more frequent. In transplant recipients, AAA repair has the potential to cause irreversible ischaemic injury to the transplanted organ. Different case series and case reports have mentioned a variety of techniques to offer protection to the transplanted organs during aneurysm repair such as cold perfusion, shunting, temporary surgical bypass and extracorporeal circuits etc. Critical review of these adjuncts seems to suggest that that they do not give any better results than just using a “clamp and go” approach. Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) may offer some advantages for transplant patients who have suitable anatomy for endovascular stent deployment. In addition to these surgical techniques, various aspects of medical management for renal, cardiac and hepatic transplant recipients undergoing AAA repair are discussed.     

The New Face of Transplant Surgery: A Survey on Cosmetic Surgery in Transplant Recipients

Background  

Transplant surgery has undergone tremendous advances within the last decade. Improvements in surgical techniques, availability of potent immunosuppressive medications, and utilization of more sophisticated post-transplant immunosuppression protocols have revolutionized the field. These developments have resulted in increased allograft survival, prolonged longevity, and improved quality of life in transplant organ recipients. Elimination of steroids in many postoperative immunosuppressive regimens has tremendously impacted the quality of life and physical appearance of these patients. They are living longer and more normal lives than previously considered possible. As a testament to the success of transplantation surgery, many transplant patients are now seeking aesthetic surgery.     

Percutaneous cryoanalgesia for pain palliation: Current status and future trends

Cryoanalgesia, otherwise termed cryoneurolysis, refers to application of extreme cold upon peripheral nerves for palliation of pain associated to nerve lesions or biomechanical syndromes of neoplastic and non-neoplastic substrate. Application of cryoanalgesia initiates a cascade of pathophysiologic events interrupting nerve conduction of painful stimuli without irreversible nerve damage. Cryoanalgesia is considered a safe procedure with minimal risk of complications when performed with percutaneous approaches under imaging guidance. In the era of an opioid overdose crisis, cryoanalgesia can be proposed as an alternative aiming at controlling pain and improving life quality. Imaging guidance has substituted open surgical and nerve stimulation approaches in nerve identification, significantly contributing to the minimally invasive character of percutaneous approaches. Ultrasound or computed tomography can serve as low cost, ideal guiding techniques due to their abilities for precise anatomic delineation, high spatial resolution and good tissue contrast. The purpose of this review is to become familiar with the most common imaging guided percutaneous cryoanalgesia indications, to learn about different technical considerations during performance providing the current evidence. Controversies concerning products will be addressed.     

Universal Precautions and Surgery in Sierra Leone: The Unprotected Workforce

Background  Surgical patients and healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa are at an increased risk of contracting HIV. Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world and has a documented HIV prevalence rate of 2%. Because surgeons and other healthcare staff in sub-Saharan Africa are at risk for HIV exposure from their patients, an assessment of protective supplies and equipment was considered essential. Methods   A Society of International Humanitarian Surgeons team in cooperation with the Sierra Leonean Ministry of Health and Sanitation undertook a survey of HIV-protective supplies and equipment at government hospitals in Sierra Leone. The presence of eye protection, sterile gloves, aprons, functioning suction machines, and sharps containers was recorded and compared with a local mission hospital and a local private hospital. Results   Only 20% of government hospitals in Sierra Leone have adequate stores of sterile gloves or eye protection. Suction pumps and aprons are available in only 30–40% of facilities, respectively, and only half have functioning sterilizers and sharps containers. The mission and private hospitals were fully stocked. Conclusions   Although surgical healthcare workers are at risk for exposure to HIV, resources for their protection at government hospitals in Sierra Leone are severely lacking. The Society of International Humanitarian Surgeons is developing a program to provide protective supplies and equipment to hospitals in Sierra Leone, but additional efforts by other organizations working to decrease the spread of HIV are essential.     

What's Hot,What's New From the 2016 American Transplant Congress

From June 11–15, 2016 the American Transplant Congress, the joint meeting of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, held its annual meeting in Boston, MA. The meeting, attended by 5200 registrants, included pre‐meeting conferences, focused topic sessions, and hundreds of high‐quality presentations from the transplant field. This meeting report highlights key findings from specific basic science, translational, and clinical research presentations deemed to have notable impact in thematic areas. In particular, there were a number of transformative studies indicating important advances in the understanding of alloimmunity, chronic rejection, tolerance, and organ‐specific outcomes. Many of these results are discussed in the context of the published literature to showcase rapid advances in the transplant field.     

Current and future trends in the management of overactive bladder

Urinary incontinence is a common problem which increases in prevalence in association with advancing age and has a significant adverse effect upon well-being and quality of life. It is not the “benign” condition that many take it for. Overactive bladder (frequency–urgency syndrome) is the commonest bladder problem in late life, affecting up to 41% of over-75-year-old individuals, and the elderly experience more severe disease. This small series should provide the reader with a comprehensive overview of the current thinking in the assessment and management of patients with overactive bladder syndrome, explores the history of the condition and current approaches to its medical and surgical management and explores where management may change in more complex populations. The current state and future developments in pharmacological therapy are also outlined. The development of this article was supported by an educational grant from UCB Pharma.