Predictors of non-home discharge after pancreatoduodenectomy in patients aged 80 years and above.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic cancer has the highest growth in incidence among patients aged ≥80 years. Discharge destination after hospitalization is increasingly recognized as a marker of return to baseline functional status. Our aim was to identify the preoperative and intraoperative predictors of non-home discharge in those aged 80 or older. METHODS: The ACS-NSQIP pancreas-targeted database was queried to identify patients aged ≥80 years who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) from 2014 to 2020. Home discharge (HD) versus non-HD cohorts were compared using univariate logistic regression. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify predictors of non-HD. RESULTS: Non-HD was over twice as likely to occur in patients aged ≥80 years than in those aged 65-79 years (p < 0.01). Comorbidity factors significantly associated with non-HD in patients aged ≥80 years included COPD, hypertension, HF, lower preoperative albumin, but not obesity. Non-comorbidity factors included older age, female gender, ASA III-IV, preoperative dependent functional status, and transfer origin before PD. CONCLUSION: Individuals ≥80 years have possibly delayed or lower rate of return to baseline functional status following PD compared to those aged 65-79 years. Predictors of non-HD can be identified to facilitate preoperative counseling and discharge planning, thus enhancing care workflow efficiency.

A Single-Center Retrospective Study to Identify Causes of Sex Differences in the Living Kidney Donor Evaluation Process.

BACKGROUND: Multiple studies have shown that females are living donors for kidney transplantation at higher rates than males. However, the underlying reasons for this observation are not well-understood. We examined the living donor evaluation process to determine the point at which sex imbalance arises. Based on a previous study, we hypothesized that both sexes are equally likely to become approved as living donors, but females are more likely to follow through with donation. METHODS: Single institution retrospective chart review of self-referrals for living donor evaluation between 1/2009 - 12/2022. Self-referrals identified using the Organ Transplant Tracking Record database and cross referenced with billing data. Exclusion at each stage of evaluation was recorded and compared between sexes using log binomial regression; unadjusted and adjusted (for donor age, race, ethnicity, relationship to recipient, and recipient sex) risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were determined. RESULTS: 1,861 self-referrals were reviewed, including 1,214 (65.2%) females and 647 (34.8%) males, resulting in 146 approvals and 125 donations (76/125, 60.8% females, 49/125 39.2% males). Adjusted RRs indicated no significant differences between sexes in completing medical and/or psychosocial workup, having medical and/or psychosocial contraindications, being approved for donation, and proceeding with donation. The top medical contraindications for both sexes were obesity, hypertension, and nephrolithiasis. CONCLUSION: Female overrepresentation among living donors is likely due to the 1.9 times higher rate of self-referral for evaluation. After this point, both sexes were equally likely to complete workup, be approved, and follow through with donation. Increased efforts to engage males at the initial self-referral stage has the potential to expand access to living donor kidney transplantation.

Impact of Donor Warm Ischemia Time on Graft Survival for Donation After Circulatory Death Kidney Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: The utilization of kidneys donated after circulatory death (DCD) is an important strategy to address the ongoing shortage of organs suitable for transplantation in the United States. However, the nonuse rate of DCD kidneys remains high compared with kidneys donated after brain death (DBD) because of concerns regarding the injury incurred during donor warm ischemia time (DWIT). Therefore, we investigated the impact of DWIT on the risk of death-censored graft failure after DCD kidney transplantation (KT). METHODS: Retrospective analysis was conducted on DCD KTs using the Standard Transplant Analysis and Research data set. The association of DWIT with death-censored graft failure was evaluated using multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression, with reference to DCD KTs with Kidney Donor Risk Index (KDRI) of ≤0.78 and the median DWIT of 26 min. RESULTS: A total of 28 032 DCD kidney-alone transplants between January 2010 and December 2021 were studied. When stratified by KDRI, increasing DWIT was associated with a clinically significant increased risk for death-censored graft failure only in the subset of kidneys with KDRI >1.14 but not in those with KDRI >0.78-≤0.94 and >0.94-≤1.14, compared with the reference group. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that clinicians should not decline kidneys on the basis of DWIT in favor of potential offers of DBD or other DCD kidneys with shorter DWIT, provided that their KDRI scores are within an acceptable limit. Our study highlights opportunities for more efficient usage of DCD kidneys and improving the shortage of transplantable organs.