Cryoablation in lung transplantation: Its impact on pain, opioid use, and outcomes.

Objective: To assess the effect of intraoperative cryoablation on postoperative patient-reported pain, opioid use, and clinical outcomes in lung transplantation. Methods: We performed a single-center retrospective cohort study of adult lung transplant recipients from August 2017 to September 2018. We compared outcomes of patients who received intraoperative cryoablation of the intercostal nerves with those who did not. Primary outcomes were postoperative patient-reported pain scores and opioid use. Secondary outcomes included postoperative sedation and agitation levels and perioperative outcomes. Data were abstracted from patients' electronic health records. Results: Of the 102 patients transplanted, 45 received intraoperative cryoablation (intervention group) and 57 received the standard of care, which did not include intercostal or serratus blocks or immediate postoperative epidural placement (control group). The intervention group had significantly lower median and maximum postoperative pain scores at days 3 and 7 and significantly lower oral opioid use at days 3, 7, and 14 compared with the control group. Chronic opioid use at 3 and 6 months' posttransplant was lower in the intervention group. Differences in perioperative outcomes, including length of mechanical ventilation, sedation and agitation levels, and hospital stay, were not clinically meaningful. Survival at 30 days and 1 year was superior in the intervention compared with the control group. Conclusions: Findings suggest that use of intraoperative cryoablation is an effective approach for treating pain and reducing opioid use in patients who undergo lung transplant, but a randomized study across multiple institutions is needed to confirm these findings.

Contemporary trends in PGD incidence, outcomes, and therapies.

BACKGROUND: We sought to describe trends in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) use, and define the impact on PGD incidence and early mortality in lung transplantation. METHODS: Patients were enrolled from August 2011 to June 2018 at 10 transplant centers in the multi-center Lung Transplant Outcomes Group prospective cohort study. PGD was defined as Grade 3 at 48 or 72 hours, based on the 2016 PGD ISHLT guidelines. Logistic regression and survival models were used to contrast between group effects for event (i.e., PGD and Death) and time-to-event (i.e., death, extubation, discharge) outcomes respectively. Both modeling frameworks accommodate the inclusion of potential confounders. RESULTS: A total of 1,528 subjects were enrolled with a 25.7% incidence of PGD. Annual PGD incidence (14.3%-38.2%, p = .0002), median LAS (38.0-47.7 p = .009) and the use of ECMO salvage for PGD (5.7%-20.9%, p = .007) increased over the course of the study. PGD was associated with increased 1 year mortality (OR 1.7 [95% C.I. 1.2, 2.3], p = .0001). Bridging strategies were not associated with increased mortality compared to non-bridged patients (p = .66); however, salvage ECMO for PGD was significantly associated with increased mortality (OR 1.9 [1.3, 2.7], p = .0007). Restricted mean survival time comparison at 1-year demonstrated 84.1 days lost in venoarterial salvaged recipients with PGD when compared to those without PGD (ratio 1.3 [1.1, 1.5]) and 27.2 days for venovenous with PGD (ratio 1.1 [1.0, 1.4]). CONCLUSIONS: PGD incidence continues to rise in modern transplant practice paralleled by significant increases in recipient severity of illness. Bridging strategies have increased but did not affect PGD incidence or mortality. PGD remains highly associated with mortality and is increasingly treated with salvage ECMO.

Epigenetic Age in Young African American Adults With Perinatally Acquired HIV.

BACKGROUND: Prior studies have measured accelerated aging in people with HIV using a DNA methylation (DNAm)-based biomarker of aging, "epigenetic age," but data are limited in African American (AA) young adults with perinatally acquired HIV infection (PHIV). METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study of AA young adults aged 20-35 years with PHIV (N = 31) and seronegative controls (N = 30) using DNAm measured in whole blood and cognitive function measured by the NIH Toolbox. Illumina EPIC array was used to measure DNAm age and accelerated aging markers including epigenetic age acceleration (EAA), as well as extrinsic (EEAA) and intrinsic (IEAA) EAA. RESULTS: PHIV and controls did not differ by sex (45 vs. 43% male), chronological age (26.2 vs. 28.0 years), or ethnicity. Chronological age and DNAm age were correlated (r = 0.56, P < 0.01). PHIV had a higher mean EAA (2.86 ± 6.5 vs. -2.96 ± 3.9, P < 0.01) and EEAA (4.57 ± 13.0 vs. -4.72 ± 6.0, P < 0.01) than controls; however, IEAA was not different between groups. Among PHIV, EAA and EEAA were higher in those with HIV viral load ≥50 copies/mL than <50 copies/mL (EEA: 8.1 ± 5.2 vs. 0.11 ± 5.5, P = 0 < 0.01 and EEAA: 16.1 ± 10.6 vs. -1.83 ± 9.7, P < 0.01). We observed negative correlations (r = -0.36 to -0.31) between EEAA and executive function, attention, and language scores. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, EAA in blood was observed in AA young adults with PHIV on ART using 2 measures, including EEAA which upweights the contribution of immunosenescent cell types. However, there was no evidence of age acceleration with a measure independent of cell type composition.