Ventilation parameters and early graft function in double lung transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Currently, the primary graft dysfunction (PGD) score is used to measure allograft function in the early post-lung transplant period. Although PGD grades at later time points (T48 hours and T72 hours) are useful to predict mid- and long-term outcomes, their predictive value is less relevant within the first 24 hours after transplantation. This study aimed to evaluate the capability of PGD grades to predict prolonged mechanical ventilation (MV) and compare it with a model derived from ventilation parameters measured on arrival at the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: A retrospective single-center analysis of 422 double lung transplantations (LTxs) was performed. PGD was assessed 2 hours after arrival at ICU, and grades were associated with length of MV (LMV). In addition, peak inspiratory pressure (PIP), ratio of the arterial partial pressure of oxygen to fraction of inspired oxygen (P/F ratio), and dynamic compliance (cDyn) were collected, and a logistic regression model was created. The predictive capability for prolonged MV was calculated for both (the PGD score and the model). In a second step, the created model was externally validated using a prospective, international multicenter cohort including 102 patients from the lung transplant centers of Vienna, Toronto, and Budapest. RESULTS: In the retrospective cohort, a high percentage of extubated patients was reported at 24 hours (35.1%), 48 hours (68.0%), and 72 hours (80.3%) after transplantation. At T0 (time point defined as 2 hours after arrival at the ICU), patients with PGD grade 0 had a shorter LMV with a median of 26 hours (interquartile range [IQR]: 16-47 hours) than those with PGD grade 1 (median: 42 hours, IQR: 27-50 hours), PGD grade 2 (median: 37.5 hours, IQR: 15.5-78.5 hours), and PGD grade 3 (median: 46 hours, IQR: 27-86 hours). However, IQRs largely overlapped for all grades, and the value of PGD to predict prolonged MV was poor. A total of 3 ventilation parameters (PIP, cDyn, and P/F ratio), determined at T0, were chosen on the basis of clinical reasoning. A logistic regression model including these parameters predicted prolonged MV (>72 hours) with an optimism-corrected area under the curve (AUC) of 0.727. In the prospective validation cohort, the model proved to be stable and achieved an AUC of 0.679. CONCLUSIONS: The prediction model reported in this study combines 3 easily obtainable variables. It can be employed immediately after LTx to quantify the risk of prolonged MV, an important early outcome parameter.

A Summary of Transplantation Activity in Hungary.

The first kidney transplantation was performed in Hungary by András Németh in 1962. It was a living donor procedure. After many years of silence, organized cadaveric programs were established in Budapest (1973), Szeged (1979), Debrecen (1991), and Pécs (1993). The heart program was initiated by Professor Zoltán Szabó in 1992 and the liver transplant program by Professor Ferenc Perner in 1993. The pancreas transplantation program was started in Pécs in 1998 by Károly Kalmár-Nagy, followed another in Budapest by Robert Langer in 2004. The lung transplant program was started in cooperation with Vienna in 1996. This fruitful collaboration continues today, even though that the national Hungarian program was established by Ferenc Rényi-Vámos and Professor György Lang in 2015, as it is detailed in this special issue. As a framework, the Hungarian Society of Organ Transplantation was founded in 1997 to give a scientific background for the transplant professionals. The coordination and organ allocation from deceased donors is carried out in collaboration with Eurotransplant. Usually more than 200 potential cadaveric donors are reported yearly, and 168 actual donation after brain death (DBD) donors (17.17 pmp) were utilized in 2018. The multiorgan donor rate was 65.5% among all DBDs in 2018; 505 organs were donated for transplant purposes. To date, more than 10,000 organ transplantations have been performed. The living related kidney transplant program was established in all transplant centers, led by Budapest. In this paper the authors summarize the activity of the Hungarian transplant community and of the Society over the last few decades.

Sporadic desmoid tumors of the chest: long-term follow-up of 28 multimodally treated patients.

INTRODUCTION: Desmoids of the chest are extremely rare borderline tumors. Radical surgical resection is considered to be the primary treatment. Achieving negative margins is often a challenge. Cases with positive surgical margins are associated with high risk of local recurrence. METHODS: A retrospective multicenter review was undertaken of 28 patients who underwent surgery for sporadically appearing desmoids of the chest between 1988 and 2008. Clinico-pathological data were investigated in detail. Authors have statistically analyzed the relationships between gender, age, tumor size, radicality of the first surgery, impact of the pharmacologic treatment, estrogen receptor positivity, and the development of local recurrences after a median follow-up period of 104 months. RESULTS: Primary surgery was radical in 14 patients (50%). Mean pathologic diameter was 72.14mm. Wide surgical excision was performed in 27 primary cases, out of which 10 cases (37%) were full- and 17 cases (63%) partial-thickness chest wall resections. Synthetic mesh stabilization was used in nine cases and soft tissue coverage in six patients. Morbidity rate was 25%. Recurrences were found in 63% of the cases, with a mean time of 30.5 months to first recurrences. Our investigation confirmed that microscopically free surgical margin of the first tumor resection significantly affected local tumor control. CONCLUSIONS: Because the radicality of the first surgical resection is of essential importance for long-time local control of chest desmoids, accurate preoperative diagnostics and well-planned aggressive surgical resection of the primary tumor is recommended. Due to the low incidence of desmoids, multicentric randomized investigations would be mandatory to establish evidence-based protocol for desmoid tumors.