Lung transplantation during the COVID-19 pandemic: Safely navigating the new "normal".
Am J Transplant
; 20(11): 3094-3105, 2020 11.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-745721
ABSTRACT
In the United States, an overall national decline in organ transplants has accompanied the substantial burden of COVID-19. Amidst significant regional variations in COVID-19, lung transplantation (LTx) remains a critical life-saving operation. Our LTx practice during the early pandemic may provide a blueprint for managing LTx in an era of continued community prevalence. Patients who underwent LTx at our institution between March 1 and May 20, 2020 were included. Recipient, operative, and donor characteristics were compared to those from our program in 2019, and COVID-19 testing practices were evaluated for March, April, and May to understand how our practice adapted to the pandemic. Our program performed 36 LTx, 33% more than the same period in 2019. Recipient, operative, and donor characteristics during COVID-19 were similar to those in 2019. By April 1, all donors and recipients underwent pretransplant COVID-19 testing, all returning negative results. To date, no recipients have developed posttransplant COVID-19. At our institution, pretransplant COVID-19 testing, use of local donor lungs, and avoidance of donors from areas of increased community penetration supported a safe and effective LTx practice during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Continued follow-up is required to ensure the long-term safety of these newly transplanted patients.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Tissue Donors
/
Lung Transplantation
/
Pandemics
/
Transplant Recipients
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
Am J Transplant
Journal subject:
Transplantation
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ajt.16304
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