Early implementation of renal replacement therapy after lung transplantation does not impair long-term kidney function in patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension.

OBJECTIVES: In patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension, cardiac function can be impaired in the early postoperative phase after lung transplantation because the chronically untrained left ventricle is prone to fail. Thus, restrictive fluid management is pivotal to unload the left heart. In our institution, continuous renal replacement therapy is implemented liberally whenever a patient cannot be balanced negatively. It remains unclear whether such strategy impairs long-term kidney function. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed our institutional database for patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension who underwent transplantation between 2000 and 2018. The impact of postoperative continuous renal replacement therapy on long-term outcomes was investigated using a linear mixed model and multivariable Cox regression. RESULTS: A total of 87 idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension lung transplant recipients were included in this analysis. In 38 patients (43%), continuous renal replacement therapy was started in the early postoperative period for a median of 16 days (10-22). In this group, urine production significantly decreased and patients began to acquire a positive fluid balance; however, homeostatic functions of the kidney were still preserved at the time of continuous renal replacement therapy initiation. All patients were successfully weaned from continuous renal replacement therapy and fully recovered their kidney function at the time of hospital discharge. No difference in kidney function was found between continuous renal replacement therapy and noncontinuous renal replacement therapy in patients within 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: Early implementation of continuous renal replacement therapy for perioperative volume management does not impair long-term kidney function in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension lung transplant recipients. Our data suggest that such a strategy leads to excellent long-term outcomes.

Outcomes with alemtuzumab induction therapy in lung transplantation: a comprehensive large-scale single-center analysis.

Alemtuzumab is a monoclonal antibody targeting CD52, increasingly used as induction therapy after transplantation. The aim of this study was to analyze the outcomes of alemtuzumab induction therapy followed by a low-dose maintenance immunosuppression in a large single-center cohort of lung transplant recipients. All patients, who received alemtuzumab induction followed by a low-dose maintenance immunosuppression were included in the analysis. Short- and long-term outcomes were analyzed. 721 lung transplant recipients, transplanted between January 2008 and June 2019, were included in this retrospective study. Freedom from higher-grade ACR at 1, 5, and 10 years was 98%, 96%, and 96%, respectively. Thirty-nine patients (5%) developed clinical AMR. Twenty-one percent of patients developed high-grade CKD. A total of 1488 infections were recorded. Sixteen percent were diagnosed within the first 3 months. Sixty-two patients (9%) developed a malignancy during follow-up. Freedom from CLAD at 1, 5, and 10 years was 94%, 72%, and 53%, respectively. Overall survival rates at 1, 5, and 10 years were 85%, 71%, and 61%, respectively. Alemtuzumab induction combined with a low-dose tacrolimus protocol is safe and associated with low rates of acute and chronic rejection, as well as an excellent long-term survival.