Gender disparities in kidney replacement therapies and transplantation in Colombia.

BACKGROUND: In chronic kidney disease (CKD), there are historical inequities in multiple stages of the pathway for organ transplantation. Women have been recognized as disadvantaged within this process even after several efforts. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the prevalence and incidence of CKD by gender and their access to Kidney replacement therapy (KRT) in Colombia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study based on secondary analysis of national information on CKD, hypertension, diabetes, waiting list, deceased, and living donor transplantation between 2015 and 2020. RESULTS: In Colombia, 4.934.914 patients were diagnosed with hypertension, diabetes, or CKD. 60,64% were female, with a mean age of 63.84 years (SD 14,36). Crude incidence for hypertension (10.85 vs. 7.21 /1000 inhabitants), diabetes mellitus (3.77 vs. 2.98 /1000 inhabitants), and CKD (4 vs. 2 /1000 inhabitants) was higher for females. Crude incidence for KRT was 86.45 cases /100.0000 inhabitants. In 2020, 2978 patients were on the waiting list, 44% female. There were 251 deaths on the waiting list, 38% female. This year, 517 kidney transplants were performed, and only 40% were female. CONCLUSION: In Colombia, there are proportionally more females with CKD and precursor comorbidities. Nevertheless, there are fewer females on the waiting list and transplanted annually.

Transplantation in the Context of Migration and Refugees: A Summary of the DICG and TTS Ethics Committee Workshop, Buenos Aires, Argentina, September 2022.

Global conflicts and humanitarian crises have resulted in an unprecedented number of refugees and migrants. This challenges the limited resources of health care systems and jeopardizes the availability of transplant care for these deserving migrants and refugees. This was the basis for a workshop held during the Congress of the Transplantation Society (Buenos Aires, 2022). We elaborate on the proceedings of the workshop entitled "Transplantation in the Context of Migration and Refugees," organized by the Ethics Committee of The Transplantation Society and Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group. Transplant providers from around the world shared strategies of how each region has responded to providing access to care for refugees and migrants in need of transplant services. The potential exploitation of this vulnerable group leading to illicit organ removal was addressed for each region. The Transplantation Society, Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group, and global transplant community should continue to focus on the status of refugees and migrants and collaborate on strategies to provide access to transplant care for this deserving population. Global cooperation will be essential to provide vigilant oversight to prevent exploitation of this vulnerable population.

Predicting 5-year survival after kidney transplantation in Colombia using the survival benefit estimator tool.

INTRODUCTION: A complex relationship between donor and recipient characteristics influences kidney transplant (KT) success. A tool developed by Bae S. et al. (Survival Benefit Estimator, SBE) helps estimate post-KT survival. We aim to evaluate the predictive performance of the SBE tool in terms of 5-year patient survival after a kidney transplant. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of all deceased-donor KT recipients between January 2009 to December 2021. A descriptive analysis of clinical and sociodemographic characteristics was performed. The SBE online tool was used to calculate the predicted patient survival (PPS) and the survival benefit at five years post-KT. Comparisons between predictive vs. actual patient survival were made using quintile subgroups. Three Cox regression models were built using PPS, EPTS, and KDPI. RESULTS: A total of 1145 recipients were evaluated. Mortality occurred in 157 patients. Patient survival was 86.2%. Predictive survival for patients if they remained on the waiting list was 70.6%. The PPS was 89.3%, which results in a survival benefit (SB) of 18.7% for our population. Actual survival rates were lower than the predicted ones across all the quintiles. In unadjusted analysis, PPS was a significant protective factor for mortality (HR 0.66), whereas EPTS (HR 8.9) and KDPI (HR 3.25) scores were significant risk factors. The discrimination of KDPI, PPS, and EPTS scores models were 0.59, 0.65, and 0.66, respectively. CONCLUSION: SBE score overestimated actual survival rates in our sample. The discrimination power of the score was moderate, although the utility of this tool may be limited in this specific population.

Risk Factors for Urologic Complications After Kidney Transplantation and Impact in Graft Survival.

Background and Purpose: Kidney transplantation (KT) is the best therapy for chronic kidney disease (CKD). Major urologic complications (MUCs) are the second etiology associated to morbidity and graft loss following KT, after rejection episodes. The objective of this study was to estimate the incidence, risk factors and impact on graft survival associated to urological complications in KT patients. Patients and Methods: A retrospective cohort based on electronic patient files of kidney transplant recipients from Colombiana de Trasplantes was created for the period August 2008 to September 2019. Initiation of follow-up was defined as the date of transplantation up to 3 years post-transplantation. Incidence of ureteral stenosis, ureteral obstruction, and ureteral leak was measured. A logistic regression multivariate model was adjusted to determine the associated factors to MUCs (yes/no). Patient and graft survival time were analyzed using a Kaplan-Meier method. Results: A total of 1584 KT patients were included in the cohort. MUCs were present in 195 (12.6%) KT patients. We found that dialysis duration (OR: 1.004; p = 0.02) remained significant for the incidence of MUCs in KT patients of deceased donors. Probability of graft and patient survival at 3 years of follow-up was 90.5% and 85.5%, respectively. No significant difference was found on graft and patient survival in KT patients with or without MUCs. Conclusion: MUCs are frequent complications for KT. We did not observe significant differences in graft or patient survival according to the presence of MUCs. The identification of MUCs and risk factors may guide transplant teams for future surgical and clinical decisions.

Ethical review of COVID-19 vaccination requirements for transplant center staff and patients.

Transplant centers seeking to increase coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine coverage may consider requiring vaccination for healthcare workers or for candidates. The authors summarize current data to inform an ethical analysis of the harms, benefits, and individual and societal impact of mandatory vaccination, concluding that vaccine requirements for healthcare workers and transplant candidates are ethically justified by beneficence, net utility, and fiduciary duty to patients and public health. Implementation strategies should mitigate concerns about respect for autonomy and transparency for both groups. We clarify how the same arguments might be applied to related questions of caregiver vaccination, allocation of other healthcare resources, and mandates for non-COVID-19 vaccines. Finally, we call for effort to achieve global equity in vaccination as soon as possible.

Retrospective Analysis of the Kidney Donor Profile Index to Predict Patient and Graft Survival at 5 Years Posttransplantation in a Colombian Cohort.

BACKGROUND: The Kidney Donor Profile Index (KDPI) has been used to predict patient and graft outcomes in deceased donor kidney transplantation. We aimed to evaluate the impact of KDPI on transplantation major outcomes applied to a Colombian cohort. METHODS: We retrospectively assessed 260 adult patients who underwent kidney transplantation (KT) from January 2011 to June 2014 at our center and compared their KDPIs with graft and patient outcomes at 5 years posttransplantation. Kaplan-Meier survival method and Cox analysis were fitted to analyze the impact of the 3 KDPI categories on graft and patient outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 18.4% of transplants were from donors with a KDPI ≥75%. There was a significant decrement in renal function with increasing KDPI at 5 years posttransplantation (P < .05). The final model indicates that donor diabetes was associated with elevated risk for graft loss (hazard ratio [HR], 6.5; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.35-31.8; P = .019) at 5 years posttransplantation. Recipient age (HR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.1-4.5; P = .001), diabetes status (HR, 2.17; CI, 1.04-5.5; P = .003), dialysis duration (HR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.00-1.16; P = .003), and operating room time (HR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.02-2.12; P = .003) were associated with elevated risk for death at 5 years posttransplantation. KDPI categories were not significantly associated with graft loss or death. CONCLUSIONS: We found limited KDPI power to predict graft and patient survival when applied to a Latin American population in Colombia. Our findings highlight the importance of analyzing the application of KDPI in different populations. Therefore, our findings may not be generalizable to other regions outside of Colombia.

Recomendaciones de la Academia Nacional de Medicina de Colombia para enfrentar los conflictos éticos secundarios a la crisis de COVID-19 en el inicio y mantenimiento de medidas de soporte vital avanzado / Recommendations of the National Academy of Medicine of Colombia to face the ethical conflicts secondary to the COVID-19 crisis in the initiation and maintenance of advanced life support measures

La profesión médica, fiel a su compromiso de buscar el beneficio de los pacientes y lograr los mejores resultados posibles en el proceso de atención, respetando sus derechos y voluntad, se enfrenta al reto de la pandemia de COVID-19 y la consecuente situación de emergencia sanitaria, la cual conlleva un estado de excepcionalidad que modifica de manera fundamental algunos elementos tradicionales de la práctica médica.

Liver transplantation in Latin America: the state-of-the-art and future trends.

We reviewed the current status of liver transplantation in Latin America. We used data from the Latin American and Caribbean Transplant Society and national organizations and societies, as well as information obtained from local transplant leaders. Latin America has a population of 589 million (8.5% of world population) and more than 2,500 liver transplantations are performed yearly (17% of world activity), resulting in 4.4 liver transplants per million people (pmp) per year. The number of liver transplantations grows at 6% per year in the region, particularly in Brazil. The top liver transplant rates were found in Argentina (10.4 pmp), Brazil (8.4 pmp), and Uruguay (5.5 pmp). The state of liver transplantation in some countries rivals those in developed countries. Model for End-Stage Liver Disease-based allocation, split, domino, and living-donor adult and pediatric transplantations are now routinely performed with outcomes comparable to those in advanced economies. In contrast, liver transplantation is not performed in 35% of Latin American countries and lags adequate resources in many others. The lack of adequate financial coverage, education, and organization is still the main limiting factor in the development of liver transplantation in Latin America. The liver transplant community in the region should push health care leaders and authorities to comply with the Madrid and Istambul resolutions on organ donation and transplantation. It must pursue fiercely the development of registries to advance the science and quality control of liver transplant activities in Latin America.

Trasplante simultaneo de rinon y pancreas en la Clinica San Pedro Claver del ISS / Simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplantation in Clinica San Pedro Claver del ISS

Se informa sobre los tres primeros casos de trasplante simultaneo de rinon-pancreas en la Clinica San Pedro Claver del ISS. Se presentan los criterios de seleccion de los pacientes y se discuten la valoracion pretrasplante del receptor, la tecnica quirurgica utilizada, las soluciones con las que se preservaron los organos, las complicaciones que se presentaron y los resultados obtenidos en cuanto a sobrevida del injerto y del paciente. Se concluye que el trasplante simultaneo de rinon-pancreas controla efectivamente los niveles de glicemia en los diabeticos insulinodependientes y que este procedimiento es una alternativa eficaz en el tratamiento de la diabetes mellitus tipo I con nefropatia a pesar de que aun es prematuro evaluar la evolucion de los danos previos al trasplante producidos por esta grave entidad nosologica

Trasplante renal en la Clinica San Pedro Claver / Renal transplantation in Clinica San Pedro Claver

Se presenta la experiencia de los primeros 40 trasplantes renales de la Clinica San Pedro Claver, que junto con otros 14 pacientes trasplantados en otros centros, han seguido siendo controlados por el mismo grupo de trabajo. Se muestran las principales pautas del protocolo de tratamiento de los pacientes y se analizan los resultados obtenidos desde el punto de vista de rechazo, necrosis tubular aguda, complicaciones y sobrevida del injerto y de los pacientes