Transplantation of organs from SARS-CoV-2-positive donors: Preliminary experience from Spain.

BACKGROUND: The utilization of non-lung organs from deceased donors with a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) at the time of donation can be lifesaving, although the safety of this policy must be assessed. METHODS: This is a nationwide, prospective study, reporting the experience on the utilization of non-lung organs from SARS-CoV-2-positive donors between December 15, 2020 and May 31, 2022 in Spain. RESULTS: A total of 69 patients received a solid organ transplant (41 kidney, 18 liver, 8 heart, and 2 combined liver-kidney) obtained from 32 donors with a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR at the time of donation (four of them with a cycle threshold value <30). All recipients tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 and were free of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms prior to transplantation. Nasopharyngeal swab turned positive for SARS-CoV-2 PCR in 4 (5.8%) recipients at 3, 8, 11, and 20 days after transplantation, though evidence did not support a donor-derived COVID-19. Four kidney recipients lost their grafts and two patients died: one heart recipient due to cardiogenic shock and one combined liver-kidney recipient due to lung hypertension and right heart failure. Graft losses and patient deaths were deemed unrelated to the donor SARS-CoV-2 status by the treating teams. No other adverse reactions were reported. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary experience supports the safety of the use of organs other than lungs from SARS-CoV-2 PCR-positive donors, in alignment with previous series. However, the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection upon organ quality should be established in future research.

Malignancies in Deceased Organ Donors: The Spanish Experience.

BACKGROUND: To better define the risk of malignancy transmission through organ transplantation, we review the Spanish experience on donor malignancies. METHODS: We analyzed the outcomes of recipients of organs obtained from deceased donors diagnosed with a malignancy during 2013-2018. The risk of malignancy transmission was classified as proposed by the Council of Europe. RESULTS: Of 10 076 utilized deceased donors, 349 (3.5%) were diagnosed with a malignancy. Of those, 275 had a past (n = 168) or current (n = 107) history of malignancy known before the transplantation of organs into 651 recipients. Ten malignancies met high-risk criteria. No donor-transmitted cancer (DTC) was reported after a median follow-up of 24 (interquartile range [IQR]: 19-25) mo. The other 74 donors were diagnosed with a malignancy after transplantation. Within this group, 64 donors (22 with malignancies of high or unacceptable risk) whose organs were transplanted into 126 recipients did not result in a DTC after a median follow-up of 26 (IQR: 22-37) mo, though a prophylactic transplantectomy was performed in 5 patients. The remaining 10 donors transmitted an occult malignancy to 16 of 25 recipients, consisting of lung cancer (n = 9), duodenal adenocarcinoma (n = 2), renal cell carcinoma (n = 2), extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (n = 1), prostate cancer (n = 1), and undifferentiated cancer (n = 1). After a median follow-up of 14 (IQR: 11-24) mo following diagnosis, the evolution was fatal in 9 recipients. In total, of 802 recipients at risk, 16 (2%) developed a DTC, which corresponds to 6 cases per 10 000 organ transplants. CONCLUSIONS: Current standards may overestimate the risk of malignancy transmission. DTC is an infrequent but difficult to eliminate complication.

[Permanent His-bundle pacing in patients with infra-Hisian atrioventricular block]. / Estimulación hisiana definitiva en pacientes con bloqueos infrahisianos.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Permanent His-bundle pacing is effective in patients with supra-Hisian atrioventricular block. We report our experience in patients with infra-Hisian atrioventricular block. METHODS: The study involved selected patients referred for syncope and intraventricular conduction disturbance, infra-Hisian atrioventricular block, with left ventricular dyssynchrony and no coronary sinus access. All patients underwent electrophysiological study to evaluate infra-Hisian atrioventricular conduction, both at baseline and after flecainide administration. We selected patients with an indication for permanent pacing in whom His-bundle pacing produced a narrow QRS complex. Leads were implanted in the right atrium, in the bundle of His, and at the apex of the right ventricle, and connected to the atrial, left ventricular, and right ventricular terminals, respectively, of a biventricular pacemaker generator. All pacemakers were programmed in DDD mode with a left ventricle-right ventricle interval of 80 ms. RESULTS: Between February and December 2004, seven patients met the study's inclusion criteria. The His-bundle lead was implanted successfully in five. The His-bundle pacing threshold remained stable in two patients, whereas it increased in three. During follow-up, at between 2 and 12 months, no lead dislodgement or failure to capture was observed. Echocardiography did not disclose any deterioration in ventricular function, or any worsening of or new valvular incompetence, but showed that ventricular dyssynchrony had disappeared in previously affected patients. CONCLUSIONS: His-bundle pacing is the only pacing mode capable of inducing a physiologically normal ventricular contraction. It can be used in some patients with infra-Hisian atrioventricular block.

El intervencionismo coronario percutáneo previo no aumenta la mortalidad hospitalaria en cirugía coronaria: análisis de una serie de 63.420 casos / Previous Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Does Not Increase In-Hospital Mortality After Surgical Revascularization: Analysis of 63420 Cases

Introducción En diversas publicaciones de los últimos años se señala una mortalidad hospitalaria mayor de la cirugía de revascularización miocárdica en pacientes con antecedente de intervencionismo coronario percutáneo previo exitoso; por su parte, los modelos de riesgo de mortalidad en cirugía cardíaca publicados hasta la actualidad no han incluido este antecedente como factor de riesgo. Objetivo Analizar si el intervencionismo coronario percutáneo previo es un factor de riesgo de mortalidad hospitalaria en la cirugía de revascularización coronaria. Material y métodos Entre enero de 1997 y diciembre de 2007 se analizaron un total de 78.794 pacientes sometidos a cirugía coronaria, recogidos en la base de datos del Ministerio de Sanidad de España. Tras aplicar los criterios de exclusión, el estudio se realizó sobre un total de 63.420 pacientes, de los que 2.942 (4,6%) tenían intervencionismo coronario percutáneo previo. Las variables continuas se compararon con las pruebas de U de Mann-Whitney o de la t de Student y las variables categóricas, mediante chi cuadrado. Se realizó un análisis de regresión logística univariado y multivariado y un análisis multivariado que incluía un índice de propensión. Resultados El intervencionismo coronario percutáneo previo no fue un predictor independiente de mortalidad hospitalaria en el análisis multivariado (odds ratio 0,88; intervalo de confianza del 95% 0,72-1,07; p = 0,20) ni en el modelo que incluía un índice de propensión (odds ratio 0,9; intervalo de confianza 95% 0,75-1,08; p = 0,27). Conclusión El intervencionismo coronario percutáneo previo parece no ser un factor de riesgo independiente de mortalidad hospitalaria en pacientes con intervención quirúrgica coronaria.

Introduction Recent publications indicate higher in-hospital mortality following myocardial revascularization in patients with previous history of successful percutaneous coronary intervention. Yet, no risk models of surgical mortality have included percutaneous intervention as a risk factor. Objectives The purpose of this study was to analyze whether previous percutaneous coronary intervention is a risk factor of in-hospital mortality in coronary artery bypass grafting. Methods The study included 78794 patients retrieved from the Spanish Ministry of Health database, who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery between January 1997 and December 2007. After applying exclusion criteria, 63420 patients were included in the study, 2942 (4.6%) of whom had previously undergone percutaneous coronary intervention. Continuous variables were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test or Student's t test, and categorical variables using the chi-square test. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses and a multivariate analysis including a propensity score were performed. Results Previous percutaneous coronary intervention was not an independent risk factor of in-hospital mortality in the multivariate logistic regression analysis (odds ratio 0.88; 95% confidence interval, 0.72-1.07; p = 0.20) or after adjusting for propensity score (odds ratio 0.9; 95% confidence interval, 0.75-1.08; p = 0.27). Conclusion Previous percutaneous coronary intervention is not an independent risk factor of in-hospital mortality in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.

Thrombosed mechanical pulmonary valve successfully treated with thrombolysis.

Prosthetic heart valve thrombosis is a serious complication with a high mortality. We report the case of a thrombosed St Jude Medical valve placed in the pulmonary position, in a patient who had undergone repair of tetralogy of Fallot, which was successfully treated with intravenous thrombolytic therapy with streptokinase.

Disección septal tras infarto de miocardio inferior / Septal dissection after inferior acute myocardial infarction

La disección del septum interventricular y su rotura constituyen una posible causa de la comunicación interventricular luego de un infarto de miocardio. En esta presentación se describe el caso de un varón de 68 años con un infarto agudo de miocardio inferior que fue intervenido en forma satisfactoria de un seudoaneurisma septal diagnosticado intraoperatoriamente.

Septal dissection after inferior acute myocardial infarction Septal dissection and rupture are a possible cause of ventricular septal defect after acute myocardial infarction. This presentation reports the case of a 68 year-old man with inferior acute myocardial infarction, who was satisfactorily operated of a septal pseudoaneurysm diagnosed intraoperatively.