Dramatic improvement in survival after lung transplantation over time: a single center experience.

Lung transplantation (LT) is a recognized procedure for selected patients with end-stage respiratory failure. We performed 123 LT, including 32 single lung, 84 double lung, and 7 heart-lung transplantations in 48 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 13 patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH), 33 with cystic fibrosis (CF), and 29 with interstitial lung disease (ILD) between July 1990 and January 2008. Survival was compared for periods before and after December 2001. The mean age of patients was 44.4 years (range 16-66.5 years); 84 (69%) were men. Before LT, 1 second forced expiratory volume was 28.7% +/- 18.1% and PaCO(2) = 6.3 kPa. Fifty-five patients were on noninvasive ventilation. Cold ischemia time was 320 +/- 91 minutes. Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was used in 77 patients (64%). There were 18 early surgical reinterventions, 8 extracorporeal membrane oxygenations, and 38 bronchial stent insertions among 206 at-risk bronchial sutures. Crude survivals were 69%, 58%, 41%, and 18% at 1, 2, 5, and 10 years, respectively. Comparing before (n = 70 with 15 CF) vs after December 2001 (n = 53 with 17 CF), survivals were 63% vs 78%, 51% vs 71%, and 33% vs 60% at 1, 2, and 5 years, respectively (P = .01) and for CF patients, 52% vs 100%, 52% vs 94%, and 25% vs 94% at 1, 2, and 5 years, respectively (P = .005). There was significant improvement in survival before and after 2001 in 123 LT and particularly among CF patients. Improvement in survival after LT may be related to the sum of numerous changes in our practice since December 2001, including the use of pulmonary rehabilitation pre-LT, extracellular pneumoplegia, statins, macrolides for chronic rejection, monitoring of Epstein-Barr blood load, changes in maintenance immunosuppressants, as well as position movement up the coordinator nurse and learning curve.

[Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis disclosing mucoviscidosis]. / Aspergillose bronchopulmonaire allergique révélatrice d'une mucoviscidose.

In predisposed patients, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) can arise from aspergillus bronchial colonization. We report the case of a young woman who presented with a right basal pneumonia, ground glass opacities and mediastinal adenopathies on CT scan. Biological, radiological and clinical criteria, as well as an history of childhood asthma, allowed the initial diagnosis of ABPA. However, the unusual coexistence of an additional infection with Pseudomonas Aeruginosa evoked the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis, confirmed by a sweat test and genetic analysis. Under corticosteroid and antifungal therapy and antibiotics, the clinical and radiological evolution was favourable but immuno-allergic sensitisation persisted. The ABPA-cystic fibrosis association is not rare with an estimated prevalence of 2% to 11% according to previous studies. This variability is partly explained by the difficulty of the diagnosis due to confounding clinical, radiological, and biological signs between ABPA and cystic fibrosis. Many predictive development factors of ABPA in the context of cystic fibrosis have been reported, including respiratory function, personal or familial atopy, colonization with Pseudomonas Aeruginosa and age. As in non cystic fibrosis patients, the treatment requires systemic corticotherapy and itraconazole. ABPA is still often under diagnosed and should be evoked in the context of cystic fibrosis.