ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Mean organ donor age has increased in recent years, conditioned by causes of death and population profile. We analyzed organ donation in Galicia during the last 8 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed donors in Galicia between 2000 and 2007, studying age, cause of death, donation effectiveness, and organs transplanted per donor. RESULTS: Donation rates fluctuated between 29 and 35 donors per million population (pmp) during the study period. Mean donor age increased from 51.6 years (Spain, 47.1 years) in 2000 to 63.3 years (Spain, 53.4 years) in 2007. Donors of 75 years or older increased from 7.5% to 27.2%. Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) as cause of death rose from 57% in 2000 to 75.3% in 2007. The variations in the proportions of organs transplanted between 2000 and 2007 were: kidney, 68.8% to 53.7%; liver, 86% to 88.9%; heart, 33.5% to 9.9%; and lung, 10.8% to 9.9%. Valid transplanted organs per donor decreased from 2.8 to 2.2, and effective donors from 93.5% (Spain, 90.3%) to 92.6% (Spain, 87.8%) with a mean of 94%. CONCLUSIONS: The population in Galicia has aged considerably and is widely dispersed. Despite the increased mean donor age, the percentage of effective donors has not diminished and donor rates have remained stable. This reflects the extremely conscientious attitude of transplant coordinators and the high degree of activity of transplant teams in Galicia.
Subject(s)
Aged/physiology , Heart Transplantation/physiology , Kidney Transplantation/physiology , Liver Transplantation/physiology , Lung Transplantation/physiology , Tissue and Organ Procurement/statistics & numerical data , Cause of Death , Heart Transplantation/mortality , Humans , Kidney Transplantation/mortality , Liver Transplantation/mortality , Lung Transplantation/mortality , Middle Aged , Retrospective Studies , Spain , Stroke/epidemiology , Stroke/mortalityABSTRACT
A 48-year-old male patient had arrest due to rupture of a dissecting aneurysm of the thoracic aorta into the pericardial cavity with tamponade; he received treatment in a general hospital lacking the facilities to practice heart surgery. The patient was treated by means of intermittent pericardial drainage while being transferred to another hospital at 100-km distance for surgical treatment.
Subject(s)
Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic/complications , Aortic Dissection/complications , Aortic Rupture/complications , Cardiac Tamponade/etiology , Heart Arrest/etiology , Cardiac Surgical Procedures , Cardiac Tamponade/surgery , Drainage , Hospitals, General , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Patient Transfer , Pericardial Effusion/surgeryABSTRACT
Transvenous traction for the removal of retained pacemaker electrodes is common practice with few reported complications. This case reports a patient with a DDD pacemaker with extruded electrodes, who died of a myocardial rupture at the atrial lead site after prolonged (i.e., after 24 hours) traction was applied.
