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.     

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.     

腹主动脉联合门静脉快速灌注法在器官捐献供体肝肾联合获取中的应用

目的总结腹主动脉联合门静脉快速灌注法在器官捐献供体肝肾联合获取中的可行性和安全性。方法回顾性分析2011年9月至2014年6月在佛山市第一人民医院完成的43例中国心脏死亡供体器官捐献肝肾联合获取的临床资料。43例供体中,中国心脏死亡供体分类一类(脑死亡供体)(C-Ⅰ类)15例,中国二类(心脏死亡供体)(C-Ⅱ类)1例,中国三类(脑-心双死亡捐献供体)(C-Ⅲ类)27例。器官灌注采用腹主动脉、门静脉快速插管联合灌注法。结果开腹至腹主动脉插管时间约1.5~2.0 min,43例供体共获得肝脏43个,肾脏86个。C-Ⅰ类供体热缺血时间全部为0,其余供体热缺血时间范围为3~21 min,平均10 min。2例供肝分别因肝门部严重损伤和重度脂肪肝弃用,18例供肾分别因肾结石、肾萎缩、术前血清肌酐水平较高、肾动脉粥样硬化严重、肾微小血管血栓、多发肾囊肿、外伤性肾破裂等原因弃用,供体器官总弃用率为16%。结论腹主动脉联合门静脉快速灌注法是器官捐献供体肝肾联合获取的简单、安全的方法。     

Optimal donation of kidney transplants after controlled circulatory death

Controlled donation after circulatory death (cDCD) is used for “extended criteria” donors with poorer kidney transplant outcomes. The French cDCD program started in 2015 and is characterized by normothermic regional perfusion, hypothermic machine perfusion, and short cold ischemia time. We compared the outcomes of kidney transplantation from cDCD and brain-dead (DBD) donors, matching cDCD and DBD kidney transplants by propensity scoring for donor and recipient characteristics. The matching process retained 442 of 499 cDCD and 809 of 6185 DBD transplantations. The DGF rate was 20% in cDCD recipients compared with 28% in DBD recipients (adjusted relative risk [aRR], 1.43; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.12–1.82). When DBD transplants were ranked by cold ischemia time and machine perfusion use and compared with cDCD transplants, the aRR of DGF was higher for DBD transplants without machine perfusion, regardless of the cold ischemia time (aRR with cold ischemia time <18 h, 1.57; 95% CI 1.20–2.03, vs aRR with cold ischemia time ≥18 h, 1.79; 95% CI 1.31–2.44). The 1-year graft survival rate was similar in both groups. Early outcome was better for kidney transplants from cDCD than from matched DBD transplants with this French protocol.     

Liver transplantation from active COVID-19 donors: A lifesaving opportunity worth grasping?

COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted transplantation landscape. Scientific societies recommend against the use of donors with active SARS-CoV-2 infection. Italian Transplant Authority recommended to test recipients/donors for SARS-CoV-2-RNA immediately before liver transplant (LT) and, starting from November 2020, grafts from deceased donors with active SARS-CoV-2 infection were allowed to be considered for urgent-need transplant candidates with active/resolved COVID-19. We present the results of the first 10 LTs with active COVID-19 donors within an Italian multicenter series. Only two recipients had a positive molecular test at LT and one of them remained positive up to 21 days post-LT. None of the other eight recipients was found to be SARS-CoV-2 positive during follow-up. IgG against SARS-CoV-2 at LT were positive in 80% (8/10) of recipients, and 71% (5/7) showed neutralizing antibodies, expression of protective immunity related to recent COVID-19. In addition, testing for SARS-CoV-2 RNA on donors’ liver biopsy at transplantation was negative in 100% (9/9), suggesting a very low risk of transmission with LT. Immunosuppression regimen remained unchanged, according to standard protocol. Despite the small number of cases, these data suggest that transplanting livers from donors with active COVID-19 in informed candidates with SARS-CoV-2 immunity, might contribute to safely increase the donor pool.

     

Evidence of benefit from centralised treatment of ovarian cancer: a nationwide population-based survival analysis in Finland

To assess the effect of different hospital types or surgical volume on the survival of ovarian cancer patients, a nationwide and population-based analysis was carried out in Finland. The study included all 3,851 ovarian cancer patients operated from 1983-94. The patients were classified according to the hospital of the first surgery. The hospitals were categorized by type (university, central or other hospital) and, separately, into quartiles by the number of operated patients (surgical volume). The patients operated at university hospitals had better survival than those operated in central hospitals, the 5-year relative survival rates (RSR) being 45% (95% CI = 42-48%) and 37% (34-40%), respectively. RSR in the 'other hospital' category was 45% (42-48%). The RSR for the patients operated in the highest volume hospitals was 47% (43-50%), and by decreasing volume (quartile) the RSR was 40% (36-43%), 40% (36-43%) and 42% (38-45%), respectively. After controlling for potential confounding by stage and age using regression models, the results remained practically the same. The results indicate that further centralizing of operative treatment of ovarian cancer may still improve survival rates on a population level in Finland.     

Mechanical Circulatory Support in the Treatment of Advanced Heart Failure

According to the Centers for Disease Control, heart failure (HF) remains a pervasive condition with high morbidity and mortality, affecting 5.8 million people in the United States and 23 million worldwide. For patients with refractory end‐stage HF, heart transplantation is the “gold standard” for definitive treatment. However, the demand for heart transplantation has consistently exceeded the availability of donor hearts, with approximately 2331 orthotopic heart transplantations performed in the United States in 2015 despite an estimated 100 000 to 250 000 patients with New York Heart Association class IIIB or IV symptoms that are refractory to medical treatment, making such patients potential transplant candidates. As such, the need for mechanical circulatory support (MCS) to treat patients with end‐stage HF has become paramount. In this review, we focus on the history, advancements, and current use of durable MCS device therapy in the treatment of advanced heart failure.     

儿童医院重点部门耐碳青霉烯类革兰阴性杆菌主动筛查结合集中安置干预效果评价

目的 对耐碳青霉烯类革兰阴性杆菌(CR-GNB)进行主动筛查,结合筛查结果对患者进行集中安置,评价干预措施的效果,为CR-GNB医院感染防控提供科学依据.方法 选取2017年1月—2018年12月入住某儿科医院重点部门[新生儿、新生儿重症监护病房(NICU)、儿童重症监护病房(PICU)、血液科]患者为研究对象,并对所...     

公立医院招标采购对学科建设的影响

学科建设是医院建设的基础和核心工程,是医院核心竞争力提升的必要条件,学科建设的提升需要高质量的物力配备作为条件支持,而招标采购作为医院运营管理机制的重要组成,在服务学科建设方面发挥着关键性的作用,招标采购质量直接作用着学科建设质量、进程、结果.该文从公立医院招标采购切入,探讨对医院学科建设的影响和需要改进的措施.