Transplant Center Provision of Education and Culturally and Linguistically Competent Care: A National Study

Although transplant centers are required to educate patients about kidney transplantation (KT) and living donation (LD), little is known about the educational format, and cultural and linguistic competence necessary for patients to make informed treatment decisions. This study surveyed US transplant administrators about education provided concerning KT and LD and culturally and linguistically competent care. Transplant administrators were invited to participate in an anonymous Internet‐based survey about education format, education providers, promoting LD, culturally and linguistically competent care and center characteristics. Most (61%) transplant administrators contacted (N = 280/461) completed the survey. Most administrators (91%) reported that their center provides any type of formal education in their pre‐KT evaluation. Education was mostly provided by: nurses (97%), social workers (72%) and surgeons (55%), and predominantly as one‐on‐one (80%) versus group discussions (60%). Education was primarily delivered through written materials (93%). Written educational materials in Spanish (86%) and the provision of interpreters (82%) were emphasized over educational sessions in Spanish (39%), or employing bilingual (51%) and bicultural staff (39%). Half (55%) promoted LD as the best option. Transplant centers need to take greater efforts to consistently provide appropriate education, promote LD, and provide culturally and linguistically competent care to ensure effective communication with all patients.     

Disparities in provision of transplant information affect access to kidney transplantation

Recently Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began asking providers on Form-2728 whether they informed patients about transplantation, and if not, to select a reason. The goals of this study were to describe national transplant education practices and analyze associations between practices and access to transplantation (ATT), based on United States Renal Data System (USRDS) data from 2005 to 2007. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with not being informed about transplantation, and modified Poisson regression to examine associations between not being informed and ATT (all models adjusted for demographics/comorbidities). Of 236,079 incident end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, 30.1% were not informed at time of 2728 filing, for reasons reported by providers as follows: 42.1% unassessed, 30.4% medically unfit, 16.9% unsuitable due to age, 3.1% psychologically unfit and 1.5% declined counsel. Older, obese, uninsured, Medicaid-insured and patients at for-profit centers were more likely to be unassessed. Women were more likely to be reported as unsuitable due to age, medically unfit and declined, and African Americans as psychologically unfit. Uninformed patients had a 53% lower rate of ATT, a disparity persisting in the subgroup of uninformed patients who were unassessed. Disparities in ATT may be partially explained by disparities in provision of transplant information; dialysis centers should ensure this critical intervention is offered equitably.     

Post Transplant Erythrocytosis in Hypercalcemic Renal Transplant Recipients

In vitro data suggest that calcium plays an important role in normal and disordered erythropoiesis. The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is an association between serum calcium, various hormone levels, and the development of post transplant erythrocytosis (PTE). Data were collected on 283 patients who underwent renal transplantation between 1994 and 1998. The relationship between serum calcium and PTE development was tested using the chi-square test. Univariate and multivariable adjusted models were employed to determine predictors of maximum hematocrit. Selected patients underwent measurement of intact parathyroid hormone (PTH), 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D, and erythropoietin (EPO). Seventy-three patients (26%) developed PTE. Post transplant erythrocytosis was more common in patients with hypercalcemia compared with patients with normal serum calcium (34% vs. 18%, p = 0.002). In multivariable analyses, serum calcium was a strong independent predictor of maximum hematocrit post transplant, even after adjustment for renal function. A serum calcium of >or=10.2 mg/dL was associated with greater than two-fold increased odds of PTE. There were no differences in hormone levels between subjects with hypercalcemia and PTE, subjects with PTE alone, and subjects with hypercalcemia alone. Hypercalcemia is associated with the development of PTE in renal transplant recipients.     

Disparities in the Utilization of Live Donor Renal Transplantation

Despite universal payer coverage with Medicare, sociodemographic disparities confound the care of patients with renal failure. We sought to determine whether adults who realize access to kidney transplantation suffer inequities in the utilization of live donor renal transplantation (LDRT). We identified adults undergoing primary renal transplantation in 2004–2006 from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). We modeled receipt of live versus deceased donor renal transplant on multilevel multivariate models that examined recipient, center and UNOS region-specific covariates. Among 41 090 adult recipients identified, 39% underwent LDRT. On multivariate analysis, older recipients (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.56–0.68 for 50–59 year-olds vs. 18–39 year-old recipients), those of African American ethnicity (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.50–0.59 vs. whites) and of lower socioeconomic status (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.67–0.79 for high school-educated vs. college-educated recipients; OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.71–0.87 for lowest vs. highest income quartile) had lower odds of LDRT. These characteristics accounted for 14.2% of the variation in LDRT, more than recipient clinical variables, transplant center characteristics and UNOS region level variation. We identified significant racial and socioeconomic disparities in the utilization of LDRT. Educational initiatives and dissemination of processes that enable increased utilization of LDRT may address these disparities.     

The Prognostic Value of Kidney Transplant Center Report Cards

SRTR report cards provide the basis for quality measurement of US transplant centers. There is limited data evaluating the prognostic value of report cards, informing whether they are predictive of prospective patient outcomes. Using national SRTR data, we simulated report cards and calculated standardized mortality ratios (SMR) for kidney transplant centers over five distinct eras. We ranked centers based on SMR and evaluated outcomes for patients transplanted the year following reports. Recipients transplanted at the 50th, 100th and 200th ranked centers had 18% (AHR = 1.18, 1.13?1.22), 38% (AHR = 1.38, 1.28?1.49) and 91% (AHR = 1.91, 1.64?2.21) increased hazard for 1‐year mortality relative to recipients at the top‐ranked center. Risks were attenuated but remained significant for long‐term outcomes. Patients transplanted at centers meeting low‐performance criteria in the prior period had 40% (AHR = 1.40, 1.22?1.68) elevated hazard for 1‐year mortality in the prospective period. Centers' SMR from the report card was highly predictive (c‐statistics > 0.77) for prospective center SMRs and there was significant correlation between centers' SMR from the report card period and the year following (ρ = 0.57, p < 0.001). Although results do not mitigate potential biases of report cards for measuring quality, they do indicate strong prognostic value for future outcomes. Findings also highlight that outcomes are associated with center ranking across a continuum rather than solely at performance margins.

     

Kidney Transplant from the Same Donor without Maintenance Immunosuppression after Previous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant

In January 2005, an 18‐year‐old male patient with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) received a haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from his father. He developed hemolytic uremic syndrome and end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring hemodialysis on day 357 after HSCT. On day 1020 after HSCT, a living kidney donation from the stem cell donor was carried out. The creatinine before kidney transplantation (KT) was ≈450 μmol/L, 268 μmol/L on day 2 after KT, 88 μM on day 38 and 89 μmol/L on day 960 (day 1980 after HSCT). Immunosuppression was gradually discontinued: cortisone on day 28, tacrolimus on day 32 and MMF on day 100 after KT (day 1120 after HSCT). As of June 2010, 66 months after HSCT and 32 months after KT, the patient has had neither rejection episodes nor clinical manifestations of transplantation‐related complications. The patient reached 100% hematopoietic donor chimerism prekidney transplant and retained this state postkidney transplant. This unique case is the first report of a successful kidney transplant without immunosuppression after HSCT from the same haploidentical donor.     

Sex‐Based Disparities in Liver Transplant Rates in the United States

We sought to characterize sex‐based differences in access to deceased donor liver transplantation. Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients data were used to analyze n = 78 998 adult candidates listed before (8/1997–2/2002) or after (2/2002–2/2007) implementation of Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD)‐based liver allocation. The primary outcome was deceased donor liver transplantation. Cox regression was used to estimate covariate‐adjusted differences in transplant rates by sex. Females represented 38% of listed patients in the pre‐MELD era and 35% in the MELD era. Females had significantly lower covariate‐adjusted transplant rates in the pre‐MELD era (by 9%; p < 0.0001) and in the MELD era (by 14%; p < 0.0001). In the MELD era, the disparity in transplant rate for females increased as waiting list mortality risk increased, particularly for MELD scores ≥15. Substantial geographic variation in sex‐based differences in transplant rates was observed. Some areas of the United States had more than a 30% lower covariate‐adjusted transplant rate for females compared to males in the MELD era. In conclusion, the disparity in liver transplant rates between females and males has increased in the MELD era. It is especially troubling that the disparity is magnified among patients with high MELD scores and in certain regions of the United States.     

Kidney transplant outcomes from older deceased donors: a paired kidney analysis by the European Renal Association–European Dialysis and Transplant Association Registry

As the median age of deceased kidney donors rises, updated knowledge of transplant outcomes from older deceased donors in differing donor–recipient age groups is required. Using ERA‐EDTA Registry data we determined survival outcomes of kidney allografts donated from the same older deceased donor (55–70 years), and transplanted into one recipient younger and one recipient of similar age to the donor. The recipient pairs were divided into two groups: group 1; younger (median age: 52 years) and older (60 years) and group 2; younger (41 years) and older (60 years). A total of 1410 adults were transplanted during 2000–2007. Compared to the older recipients, the mean number of functioning graft years at 10 years was 6 months longer in the group 1 and group 2 younger recipients (P < 0.001). Ten‐year graft survival was 54% and 40% for the group 1 younger and older recipients, and 60% and 49% for the group 2 younger and older recipients. Paired Cox regression analyses showed a lower risk of graft failure (group 1 younger; adjusted relative risk [RRa]:0.57, 95% CI:0.41–0.79, and group 2 younger; RRa:0.63, 95% CI:0.47–0.85) in younger recipients. Outcomes from older deceased donor allografts transplanted into differing donor–recipient age groups are better than previously reported. These allografts remain a valuable transplant resource, particularly for similar‐aged recipients.     

Effect of Comorbidity Adjustment on CMS Criteria for Kidney Transplant Center Performance

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) uses kidney transplant outcomes, unadjusted for standard comorbidity, to identify centers with sufficiently higher than expected rates of graft failure or patient death (underperforming centers) that they may be denied Medicare participation. To examine whether comorbidity adjustment would affect this determination, we identified centers that would have failed to meet 1-year graft survival criteria, 1992–2005, with and without adjustment using the Elixhauser Comorbidity Index. Adjustment was performed for each U.S. center for 24 consecutive (overlapping) 30-month intervals, including 102 176 adult deceased-donor and living-donor kidney transplant patients with Medicare as primary payer 6 months pretransplant. For each interval, we determined percent positive agreement (PPA) (number of centers underperforming both before and after adjustment, divided by number underperforming either before or after adjustment). Overall PPA was 80.8%, with no evidence of a trend over time. Among deceased-donor recipients, 10 of 31 comorbid conditions were predictors of graft failure in at least half of the intervals, as were six conditions among living-donor recipients. Lack of comorbidity adjustment may disadvantage centers willing to accept higher risk patients. Risk of jeopardizing Medicare funding may give centers incentive to deny transplantation to higher risk patients.     

Influenza Virus Infection in Adult Solid Organ Transplant Recipients

BACKGROUND: Solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients have been reported to be more susceptible to influenza virus. However, little is known about the clinical epidemiology and the implications of influenza viral infection among SOT recipients. METHODS: Cohort study of influenza viral infection in SOT recipients at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. RESULTS: Between November 1990 and April 2000, 30 cases of influenza were diagnosed in SOT recipients at our center, including influenza A (n = 22) and influenza B (n = 8). These included recipients of lung (n = 19), liver (n = 5) and kidney (n = 6) transplants. The incidence of influenza viral infection was 41.8 cases/1,000 person years (PYs), 2.8 cases/1000 PYs and 4.3 cases/ 1,000 PYs among lung, liver and renal transplant patients, respectively (p <0.0001). Symptoms were reported in all patients and included malaise, myalgia/ arthralgia, fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Secondary bacterial pneumonia occurred in five patients (17%). Other complications were seen in three SOT recipients (2 liver and 1 kidney) and included: myocarditis, myositis, and bronchiolitis obliterans. Biopsy of the transplanted organ was performed in 21 SOT recipients (18 lung, 1 liver and 2 kidney) at the time of influenza viral infection. Overall, 62% (13/21) showed variable degrees of acute allograft rejection, and included 61% (11/18) of lung, and 100% (2/2) of kidney transplant recipients. CONCLUSIONS: Influenza infection is associated with significant morbidity in different groups of SOT recipients. Studies are needed to determine if yearly chemoprophylaxis with antiviral drugs might benefit this patient population.     

Hyperhomocysteinemia in Renal Transplant Recipients

Renal transplantation is a commonly performed curative procedure for end-stage renal disease. With the increase in renal allograft half-lives, attention is now being focused on cardiovascular morbidity and death in the renal transplant recipient (RTR) population. Among the more novel cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors for which this group is at risk is hyperhomocysteinemia. Hyperhomocysteinemia has been associated with an increased risk of CVD, although prospective randomized trials designed to prove causality are still ongoing. Since plasma total homocysteine levels are inversely related to renal function, RTRs have a greatly increased prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia. Other determinants of homocysteine include B-vitamins, albumin, age, and genetic polymorphisms. Although RTRs are resistant to the typical B-vitamin doses used to correct hyperhomocysteinemia in the general population, they do respond to supraphysiologic dose therapy. In terms of prevalence, etiology, and treatment of hyperhomocysteinemia, RTRs are very similar to the much larger chronic renal insufficiency population. For this reason, RTRs have been chosen as an ideal study population in investigating the effect of reducing hyperhomocysteinemia on CVD outcomes.     

Impact of Medicare Coverage on Disparities in Access to Simultaneous Pancreas and Kidney Transplantation

In the setting of disparities in access to simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantation (SPKT), Medicare coverage for this procedure was initiated July 1999. The impact of this change has not yet been studied. A national cohort of 22 190 type 1 diabetic candidates aged 18–55 for kidney transplantation (KT) alone or SPKT was analyzed. Before Medicare coverage, 57% of Caucasian, 36% of African American and 38% of Hispanic type 1 diabetics were registered for SPKT versus KT alone. After Medicare coverage, these proportions increased to 68%, 45% and 43%, respectively. The overall increase in SPKT registration rate was 27% (95% CI 1.16–1.38). As expected, the increase was more substantial in patients with Medicare primary insurance than those with private insurance (Relative Rate 1.18, 95% CI 1.09–1.28). However, racial disparities were unaffected by this policy change (African American vs. Caucasian: 0.97, 95% CI 0.87–1.09; Hispanic vs. Caucasian: 0.94, 95% CI 0.78–1.05). Even after Medicare coverage, African Americans and Hispanics had almost 30% lower SPKT registration rates than their Caucasian counterparts (95% CI 0.66–0.79 and 0.59–0.80, respectively). Medicare coverage for SPKT succeeded in increasing access for patients with Medicare, but did not affect the substantial racial disparities in access to this procedure.     

Outcomes of Simultaneous Heart–Kidney Transplant in the US: A Retrospective Analysis Using OPTN/UNOS Data

Simultaneous heart–kidney transplantation (SHK) remains uncommon in the US. We examined outcomes of SHK compared to heart transplant alone (HTA) and deceased donor kidney transplant (DDKT).
Data from OPTN/UNOS heart and kidney data bases were used to identify 16 710 HTA, 263 SHK transplants and 68 833 DDK transplants between 1998 and 2007. Outcomes included patient survival (PS), acute cardiac and renal rejection and renal graft survival (rGS).
The adjusted risk of death was 44% lower with SHK compared to HTA. Over half of SHK were performed in cases where pretransplant dialysis was not initiated. In these cases, there was no significant difference in the risk of death between SHK and HTA (HR 1.01; 95% CI 0.67–1.50).
Recipients of SHK had worse 1-year rGS and PS and had a higher relative risk of overall renal graft loss compared to DDKT recipients. One-year rates of cardiac (14.5%) and renal (6.5%) rejection were lower in SHK compared to HTA and DDKT, respectively.
Recipients of SHK had a lower adjusted risk of death compared to HTA recipients, particularly in patients who required pretransplant dialysis. These data suggest that SHK should be considered in heart transplant candidates with renal failure requiring dialysis, whereas the utility of SHK in cases of renal failure not requiring dialysis warrants further study.     

Laparoscopic Surgery for Kidney Orthotopic Transplant in the Pig Model

Background and Objectives:

Laparoscopic surgery has rapidly expanded in surgical practice with well-accepted benefits of minimal incision, less analgesia, better cosmetics, and quick recovery. The surgical technique for kidney transplantation has remained unchanged since the first successful kidney transplant in the 1950s. Over the past decade, there were only a few case reports of kidney transplantation by laparoscopic or robotic surgery. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop a laparoscopic technique for kidney transplantation at the region of the native kidney.

Methods:

After initial development of the laparoscopic technique for kidney transplant in cadaveric pigs, 5 live pigs (Sus scrofa, weighing 45–50 kg) underwent laparoscopic kidney transplant under general anesthesia. First, laparoscopic donor nephrectomy was performed, and then the kidney was perfused and preserved with cold Ross solution. The orthotopic auto-transplant was subsequently performed using the laparoscopic technique. The blood flow of the kidney graft was assessed using Doppler ultrasonography, and urine output was monitored.

Results:

The laparoscopic kidney transplant was successful in 4 live pigs. Immediate urine output was observed in 3 pigs. The blood flow in the kidney was adequate, as determined using Doppler ultrasonography.

Conclusion:

It has been shown that laparoscopic kidney orthotopic transplant is feasible and safe in the pig model. Immediate kidney graft function can be achieved. A further study will be considered to identify the potential surgical morbidity and mortality after recovery in a pig model before translating the technique to clinical human kidney transplantation.     

Optimizing the Program‐Specific Reporting of Pancreas Transplant Outcomes

The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients is charged with providing program‐specific reports for organ transplant programs in the United States. Monitoring graft survival for pancreas transplant programs has been problematic as there are three different pancreas transplant procedures that may have different outcomes, and analyzing them separately reduces events and statistical power. We combined two consecutive 2.5‐year cohorts of transplant recipients to develop Cox proportional hazards models predicting outcomes, and tested these models in the second 2.5‐year cohort. We used separate models for 1‐ and 3‐year graft and patient survival for each transplant type: simultaneous pancreas–kidney (SPK), pancreas after kidney (PAK) and pancreas transplant alone (PTA). We first built a predictive model for each pancreas transplant type, and then pooled the transplant types within centers to compare total observed events with total predicted events. Models for 1‐year pancreas graft and patient survival yielded C statistics of 0.65 (95% confidence interval, 0.63–0.68) and 0.66 (0.61–0.72), respectively, comparable to C statistics for 1‐year patient and graft survival for other organ transplants. Model calibration (Hosmer–Lemeshow method) was also acceptable. We conclude that pooling the results of SPK, PAK and PTA can produce potentially useful models for reporting program‐specific pancreas transplant outcomes.     

Data-driven Derivation and Validation of Novel Phenotypes for Acute Kidney Transplant Rejection using Semi-supervised Clustering

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