Air Repatriation With a Medium-sized Pneumothorax Without Thoracic Tube: A Special Case of a Repatriation Accompanied by an Experienced Surgeon.

We report on the repatriation of a 28-year old female from Germany, who was involved in a serious bus accident and was transported to the nearest hospital in Oruro, Bolivia. CT scans and x-rays performed in this hospital demonstrated a complete pneumothorax right. Thorax drainage was inserted, which was removed after 5 days. Since the hospital refused to acknowledge the presence of a residual middle-sized pneumothorax on the repatriation day and did not want to insert another tube, the decision was made to repatriate the patient on commercial flight back home to Germany without a thoracic tube.

Donor desmopressin is associated with superior graft survival after kidney transplantation.

BACKGROUND: A recent randomized trial showed that pretreatment of the brain-dead donor with low-dose dopamine improves immediate kidney graft function, by limiting injury from cold storage (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00115115). This study determines whether donor exposure to desmopressin (1-deamino-8-d-arginine-vasopressin [DDAVP]) before organ retrieval affects renal transplant outcome. METHODS: This retrospective multicenter cohort study, nested in the database of the dopamine trial, includes 264 deceased heart-beating donors with confirmed brain death and corresponding 487 renal allograft recipients transplanted at 60 European centers between March 2004 and August 2007. We assessed differences in delayed graft function, biopsy-proven acute rejections, and 2-year kidney graft survival in recipients of a DDAVP-exposed versus unexposed graft. RESULTS: DDAVP was associated with improved graft survival (85.4% vs. 73.6%, P=0.003). This survival benefit persisted after censoring for death with functioning graft (91.1% vs. 82.0%, P=0.01) and after adjustment for confounders including covariate adjustment from propensity scoring (hazard ratio 0.40, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.21-0.77; P=0.006). Delayed graft function (odds ratio 0.97, 95% CI 0.57-1.65; P=0.92) and biopsy-proven acute rejections (odds ratio 1.32, 95% CI 0.70-2.49; P=0.40) were unaffected. The survival effect was enhanced after a shorter cold ischemic time less than 14 hr (91.3% vs. 77.8%, P=0.008) and after dopamine pretreatment (92.7% vs. 78.6%, P=0.006). By contrast, prolonged cold ischemic time more than or equal to 14 hr (91.2% vs. 86.5%, P=0.39) and assignment to the nondopamine group (89.7% vs. 84.8%, P=0.37) abrogated the survival advantage. CONCLUSIONS: Donor DDAVP seems to improve renal allograft survival. Combined use of donor DDAVP and low-dose dopamine should receive further evaluation.

Effects of donor pre-treatment with dopamine on survival after heart transplantation: a cohort study of heart transplant recipients nested in a randomized controlled multicenter trial.

OBJECTIVES: We determined the outcome of cardiac allografts from multiorgan donors enrolled in a randomized trial of donor pre-treatment with dopamine. BACKGROUND: Treatment of the brain-dead donor with low-dose dopamine improves immediate graft function after kidney transplantation. METHODS: A cohort study of 93 heart transplants from 21 European centers was undertaken between March 2004 and August 2007. We assessed post-transplant left ventricular function (LVF), requirement of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) or biventricular assist device (BVAD), need for hemofiltration, acute rejection, and survival of recipients of a dopamine-treated versus untreated graft. RESULTS: Donor dopamine was associated with improved survival 3 years after transplantation (87.0% vs. 67.8%, p = 0.03). Fewer recipients of a pre-treated graft required hemofiltration after transplant (21.7% vs. 40.4%, p = 0.05). Impaired LVF (15.2% vs. 21.3%, p = 0.59), requirement of a LVAD (4.4% vs. 10.6%, p = 0.44), and biopsy-proven acute rejection (19.6% vs. 14.9%, p = 0.59) were not statistically different between groups. Post-transplant impaired LVF (hazard ratio [HR]: 4.95; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.08 to 11.79; p < 0.001), requirement of LVAD (HR: 6.65; 95% CI: 2.40 to 18.45; p < 0.001), and hemofiltration (HR: 2.83; 95% CI: 1.20 to 6.69; p = 0.02) were predictive of death. The survival benefit remained (HR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.12 to 0.89; p = 0.03) after adjustment for various risks affecting mortality, including pre-transplant LVAD/BVAD, inotropic support, and impaired kidney function. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of brain-dead donors with dopamine of 4 µg/kg/min will not harm cardiac allografts but appears to improve the clinical course of the heart allograft recipient. (Prospective Randomized Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of Donor Preconditioning With Dopamine on Initial Graft Function After Kidney Transplantation; NCT00115115).

The need for vigilance in extended criteria donors with a past history of malignancy: a case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Organ shortage has prompted many transplant centers to extend their criteria for organ acceptance including the history of a variety of co-morbidities in donors. The use of organs from donors with a past medical history of malignancy in order to reduce the waiting list mortalities remains a dilemma. CASE REPORT: Herein we report a 62-year-old female donor with a history of a presumably cured serous adenocarcinoma of the ovary and underscore the need for vigilance in the search of an active site of cancer while assessing these donors for organ recovery. CONCLUSIONS: In order to minimize the risk of donor tumor transmission, especially in the donors with a past medical history of cancer, extensive evaluation of the donor including the surgical exploration of all body cavities is absolutely necessary. Any suspicious lesion should prompt a frozen section biopsy. In this regard, an on-call pathologist to do the frozen section should be an integral part of the transplant team.

Effects of donor pretreatment with dopamine on graft function after kidney transplantation: a randomized controlled trial.

CONTEXT: Kidney graft function after transplantation can be improved through pharmacological donor pretreatment to limit organ injury from cold preservation. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether pretreatment of brain-dead donors with low-dose dopamine improves early graft function in human renal transplant recipients. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: Randomized, open-label, multicenter, parallel-group trial of 264 deceased heart-beating donors and 487 subsequent renal transplants performed at 60 European centers between March 2004 and August 2007 (final follow-up, December 31, 2008). Eligible donors were stable under low-dose norepinephrine with a normal serum creatinine concentration on admission. INTERVENTIONS: Donors were randomized to receive low-dose dopamine (4 mug/kg/min). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Dialysis requirement during first week after transplantation. RESULTS: Dopamine was infused for a median of 344 minutes (IQR, 215 minutes). Dialysis was significantly reduced in recipients of a dopamine-treated graft. Fewer recipients in the treatment group needed multiple dialyses (56/227; 24.7%; 95% CI, 19.0%-30.3%; vs 92/260; 35.4%; 95% CI, 29.5%-41.2%; P = .01). The need for multiple dialyses posttransplant was associated with allograft failure after 3 years (HR, 3.61; 95% CI, 2.39-5.45; P < .001), whereas a single dialysis was not (HR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.21-2.18; P = .51). Besides donor dopamine (OR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.35-0.83; P = .005), cold ischemic time (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.02-1.11 per hour; P = .001), donor age (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.05 per year; P < .001), and recipient body weight (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01-1.04 per kg; P = .009) were independent explanatory variables in a multiple logistic regression model. Dopamine resulted in significant but clinically meaningless increases in the donor's systolic blood pressure (3.8 mm Hg; 95% CI, 0.7-6.9 mm Hg; P = .02) and urine production before surgical recovery of the kidneys (29 mL; 95% CI, 7-51 mL; P = .009) but had no influence on outcome. CONCLUSION: Donor pretreatment with low-dose dopamine reduces the need for dialysis after kidney transplantation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00115115.