Psychosocial Risk and Health Behaviors as Predictors of Clinical Events in Patients Wait-Listed for a New Heart: Results from 7 Years of Follow-Up.

We examined the long-term relationship of psychosocial risk and health behaviors on clinical events in patients awaiting heart transplantation (HTx). Psychosocial characteristics (e.g., depression), health behaviors (e.g., dietary habits, smoking), medical factors (e.g., creatinine), and demographics (e.g., age, sex) were collected at the time of listing in 318 patients (82% male, mean age = 53 years) enrolled in the Waiting for a New Heart Study. Clinical events were death/delisting due to deterioration, high-urgency status transplantation (HU-HTx), elective transplantation, and delisting due to clinical improvement. Within 7 years of follow-up, 92 patients died or were delisted due to deterioration, 121 received HU-HTx, 43 received elective transplantation, and 39 were delisted due to improvement. Adjusting for demographic and medical characteristics, the results indicated that frequent consumption of healthy foods (i.e., foods high in unsaturated fats) and being physically active increased the likelihood of delisting due improvement, while smoking and depressive symptoms were related to death/delisting due to clinical deterioration while awaiting HTx. In conclusion, psychosocial and behavioral characteristics are clearly associated with clinical outcomes in this population. Interventions that target psychosocial risk, smoking, dietary habits, and physical activity may be beneficial for patients with advanced heart failure waiting for a cardiac transplant.

Smoking Status at Time of Listing for a Heart Transplant Predicts Mortality on the Waiting List: A Multicenter Prospective Observational Study.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the association of smoking status at time of listing with waitlist mortality among heart transplant (HTx) candidates. PARTICIPANTS AND DESIGN: Data were analyzed from 316 participants (aged 53 ± 11; 18% female) of the Waiting for a New Heart Study, a prospective observational study of patients newly listed for HTx at 17 hospitals. RESULTS: During the study period (April 2005 to March 2010), 14% of those who never smoked died, 18% among former smokers died, and almost half (42%) died among those who reported smoking at time of wait listing. Multivariate Cox regression models controlling for age, sex, and disease severity revealed smoking at time of listing was associated with significantly higher risk of mortality compared to never smoking (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.43; P = .03). The relationship between smoking and mortality risk appeared to follow a dose-dependent pattern: adjusted HRs were 1.80 for those who quit ≤1 year ago, 1.25 for those who quit >1 to 10 years ago, and 0.90 for those quit >10 years ago, compared to never smokers. Smoking at time of listing may increase risk of mortality during the waiting period, indicating the need for improved strategies to achieve smoking cessation as early as possible in the course of HTx.

Physical activity and depression predict event-free survival in heart transplant candidates.

OBJECTIVE: This study prospectively evaluated the relationship of physical activity (PA), depression, and anxiety to event-free survival during waiting time for heart transplantation in ambulatory patients enrolled in the Waiting for a New Heart Study. METHOD: Data from 227 ambulatory patients newly listed for heart transplantation were analyzed. Everyday PA (number of activities, caloric expenditure), depression, and anxiety at time of listing were assessed via questionnaires. Events were defined as death, high-urgency transplantation, delisting due to clinical deterioration, and mechanical circulatory support device implantation. Associations of PA scores, depression, and anxiety with event-free survival were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards models. Covariates included age, sex, body mass index, and objective indicators of disease severity. RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 478 days (6-1,849 days), 132 events occurred (46 deaths, 20 mechanical circulatory support device implantations, 54 high-urgency transplantations, 12 delistings). A higher number of activities was significantly associated with a reduced hazard ratio (HR) to experience an event (HR = 0.88, 95% CI [0.81, 0.96]), and depression increased this risk (HR = 1.64, 95% CI [1.16, 2.32]). Both effects remained significant in multivariate analyses (HR = 0.91, 95% CI [0.83, 0.99]; HR = 1.60, 95% CI [1.12, 2.29], ps < .02). No significant interactions between PA scores and emotions were observed and anxiety was unrelated to survival. CONCLUSION: Both everyday PA and the absence of depression prolonged event-free survival in ambulatory heart transplant candidates. These findings were independent of objective measures of disease severity. Patients waiting for cardiac transplantation may benefit from interventions focused on increasing their everyday PA and reducing depressive symptoms.

Dietary habits are related to outcomes in patients with advanced heart failure awaiting heart transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Empirical evidence supporting the benefits of dietary recommendations for patients with advanced heart failure is scarce. We prospectively evaluated the relation of dietary habits to pre-transplant clinical outcomes in the multisite observational Waiting for a New Heart Study. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 318 heart transplant candidates (82% male, age 53 ± 11 years) completed a Food Frequency Questionnaire (foods high in salt, saturated fats, poly-/monounsaturated fats [PUFA+MUFA], fruit/vegetables/legumes, and fluid intake) at time of waitlisting. Cox proportional hazard models controlling for heart failure severity (eg, Heart Failure Survival Score, creatinine) estimated cause-specific hazard ratios (HRs) associated with each dietary habit individually, and with all dietary habits entered simultaneously. During follow-up (median 338 days, range 13-1,394), 54 patients died, 151 received transplants (110 in high-urgency status, 41 electively), and 45 became delisted (15 deteriorated, 30 improved). Two robust findings emerged: Frequent intake of salty foods, which correlated positively with saturated fat and fluid intake, was associated with transplantation in high-urgency status (HR 2.90, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.55-5.42); and frequent intake of foods rich in PUFA+MUFA reduced the risk for death/deterioration (HR 0.49, 95% CI 0.26-0.92). CONCLUSIONS: These results support the importance of dietary habits for the prognosis of patients listed for heart transplantation, independently from heart failure severity.

Medical and psychosocial predictors of mechanical circulatory support device implantation and competing outcomes in the Waiting for a New Heart Study.

BACKGROUND: Medical and psychosocial factors are related to 1-year outcomes in the Waiting for a New Heart Study. With increased use of mechanical circulatory support devices (MCSD) over the course of the study, we can now evaluate these variables as predictors of MCSD in an extended follow-up. METHODS: Analyses focused on 313 MCSD-free patients (82% men; aged 53 ± 11 years) newly listed for heart transplantation (HTx). Variables assessed at time of listing included psychosocial risk (depression, social isolation), quality of life, waiting list stress, and medical risk (Heart Failure Survival Score, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure). Cumulative incidence functions and cause-specific Cox models examined the association of medical and psychosocial risk (low: non-depressed and socially integrated; medium: depressed or socially isolated; high: depressed and socially isolated) with time until MCSD, considering covariates and competing outcomes (death, high-urgency transplantation [HU-HTx], elective HTx, and delisting due to clinical improvement or deterioration). RESULTS: Psychosocial risk groups were comparable regarding demographics, medical parameters, and quality of life, but differed in waiting list-related stressors. During follow-up (median, 326; range, 5-1,849 days), 26 patients received MCSD, 53 died, 144 underwent HTx (103 in HU status), and 53 were delisted (15 deteriorated, 31 improved). Non-depressed and socially integrated patients did not require MCSD. Controlling for medical risk, psychosocial risk significantly contributed to MCSD, HU-HTx, and improvement; medical risk and female gender predicted death (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Psychosocial risk at time of listing affects the prognosis of HTx candidates beyond medical risk. Psychosocial interventions may help to stabilize patients' health.

Patients' sex and emotional support as predictors of death and clinical deterioration in the waiting for a new heart study: results from the 1-year follow-up.

CONTEXT: Little is known about the role of patient's sex and emotional support in the prognosis of heart transplant candidates. OBJECTIVE: To examine patient's sex and emotional support as predictors of outcomes in the Waiting for a New Heart Study. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: The Waiting for a New Heart Study is a prospective observational study of 318 patients (18% female) newly added to the waiting list for a heart transplant. Demographic, medical, psychosocial characteristics (including social support [ENRICHD Social Support Index; high vs. low support]) were assessed at the time of wait-listing. Main Outcomes-Time until death/delisting due to deteriorated tealth, considering competing outcomes (e.g., transplantation) during the first 12 months after wait-listing were analyzed via cause-specific Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: By 12 months, 32 men (12%) and 10 women (17%) had died/deteriorated. Medical risk was comparable across sexes. More men than women reported low emotional support (20.4% vs. 8.6%) and being a past or current smoker (80.4% vs. 56.9%). More women than men had low vocational level (93.1% vs. 69.6%; all P values < .05). With medical risk and other confounding variables controlled for, female sex significantly increased risk of death/deterioration (hazard ratio, 2.30; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-5.12; P = .04); low emotional support further tended to increase the risk for this outcome (P = .07). As none of the 5 women with low emotional support had reached this end point, analyses were performed in the male sample and revealed that men with low emotional support were more than twice as likely to die/deteriorate than were men with high support (hazard ratio, 2.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-4.82; P = .04). CONCLUSION: Women had worse survival while awaiting a heart transplant than men had, independent of confounding variables. Even though emotional support may be an important buffer for men, protective factors for women warrant further investigation with larger samples and/or longer follow-ups.

Composite risk scores and depression as predictors of competing waiting-list outcomes: the Waiting for a New Heart Study.

We evaluated two composite risk scores, (Heart Failure Survival Score, HFSS; German Transplant Society Score, GTSS), and depression as predictors of mortality and competing waiting-list outcomes [high-urgency transplantation (HU-HTx), elective transplantation, delisting because of clinical improvement] in 318 heart transplant (HTx) candidates (18% women; aged 53 ± 11 years) from 17 hospitals and newly registered with Eurotransplant. Demographic variables and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS) were assessed using questionnaires. Variables to compute HFSS and GTSS, age, medications, and outcomes were provided by Eurotransplant. At 12 months, 33 patients died, 83 received urgent HTx, 30 elective HTx, and 17 were delisted because of improvement. Applying cause-specific Cox regressions, only the HFSS was significantly associated with 1-year mortality [HR = 0.64 (95% CI = 0.43-0.95), P = 0.029]. The GTSS was the strongest predictor of HU-HTx [HR= 1.02 (95% CI = 1.01-1.02), P < 0.001]. Low depression scores contributed significantly to clinical improvement, even after adjusting for age and risk scores [HADS: HR = 0.12 (95% CI = 0.02-0.89), P = 0.039]. These findings confirm the usefulness of composite risk scores for the prediction of mortality and HU-HTx, validating both scores for their intended use. The finding that depression was an independent predictor of the waiting-list outcome clinical improvement suggests that considering patients' psychological attributes in addition to their medical characteristics is advisable.

Depression and disease severity as correlates of everyday physical activity in heart transplant candidates.

It is unclear to what extent patients awaiting heart transplantation (HTx) engage in physical activities. We examined the everyday physical activity and its associations with depressive symptoms and disease severity in 318 patients newly registered for HTx in the multi-site study 'Waiting for a New Heart' (aged 53.5 +/- 11.4 years, 18% female patients). Participants completed questionnaires assessing depressive symptomatology and physical activity (number of physical activities, caloric expenditure associated with each activity), and estimated the distance they were able to walk without a break. Medical parameters at the time of listing [e.g. peak oxygen consumption (peakVO(2)); the German Transplant Society Score (GTSS)] were provided by Eurotransplant. Almost 50% of patients engaged in activities of daily living (housework, walking), but <10% engaged in regular exercise. All physical activity measures correlated significantly with peakVO(2) (Ps < 0.01). Elevated depression scores were present in 39% of patients. Controlling for confounding variables (e.g. peakVO(2), diastolic blood pressure, GTSS, age), depressive symptomatology accounted for additional variance in all physical activity measures (Ps < 0.05). The association of depressive symptoms with reduced physical activity suggests two important perspectives: attempts to increase physical activity (especially in the area of daily living) might benefit from targeting depression, and increased physical activity might also help to reduce depressive symptoms.

Social isolation and depression predict 12-month outcomes in the "waiting for a new heart study".

BACKGROUND: Identification of modifiable psychosocial characteristics related to survival of heart transplant (HTx) candidates is needed to prevent clinical deterioration and improve prognosis. METHODS: A multi-site, prospective study was conducted with 318 HTx candidates (18% female, 82% male; 53 +/- 11 years of age) newly listed at 17 hospitals in Germany and Austria. Baseline demographic and psychosocial characteristics were assessed by questionnaires. Indicators of disease severity (Heart Failure Survival Score, creatinine, cardiac index) and 12-month outcomes (death, high-urgency HTx, elective HTx, de-listing due to deterioration or improvement) were provided by Eurotransplant. RESULTS: By 12 months, 33 patients died, 83 received an urgent HTx, 30 underwent an elective HTx, and 9 were de-listed due to clinical deterioration and 17 due to improvement. All measures of disease severity predicted outcomes. Controlling for disease severity, the number of social contacts contributed significantly to outcomes, favoring those who improved. Comparing socially isolated patients (<4 social contacts/month) who also had depression scores in the clinical range (high psychosocial risk group; n = 37) to those with >10 social contacts/month without depression (low psychosocial risk group; n = 47) revealed significant differences in the distribution of outcome frequencies (chi-square = 11.2, df = 4, p < 0.04). The high psychosocial risk group was more likely to have died/deteriorated and less likely to have improved than the low psychosocial risk group. CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of disease severity, socially isolated HTx candidates who are also depressed may be at increased risk for clinical deterioration and mortality, indicating a need for psychosocial intervention.

Psychosocial and behavioural factors in heart transplant candidates--an overview.

Mortality among heart transplant (HTX) candidates remains high. This review of the literature shows that psychosocial characteristics like depression, social isolation and coping strategies contribute to morbidity and mortality in heart failure (HF) patients, and may also be relevant to the prognosis of HTX candidates. Based on the research to date, physical activity favourably affects subjective and objective parameters not only in HF patients, but also in HTX candidates. Depression is prevalent among HTX candidates, especially in ischaemic patients, and seems to be related to earlier transplantation. Findings on the effects of depression on pretransplant mortality are conflicting. Not much is known concerning social isolation, coping, nutrition, or weight loss in this patient group. Identification of modifiable psychosocial and behavioural variables related to clinical status in this patient group is clearly needed and will aid the development of behavioural interventions to supplement medical therapies.

Waiting for a thoracic transplant in Eurotransplant.

The prospects of patients on the thoracic waiting list are governed by the chance of receiving an organ in time and by the outcome of the transplantation. The former probability is determined by a triad of disease severity, resource size and allocation rules. The aim of this study was to provide an objective description of the distributional effects of the thoracic allocation system in Eurotransplant. It appears that the interpretation of waiting-list outflow indicators is not straightforward and that it is difficult to assess the fairness of an organ allocation system in the framework of changing donor-organ availability. The timing of listing for heart transplantation can substantially be improved; whether this is also true for lung transplantation cannot be determined from the available data. Allocation schemes cannot solve the problem of organ shortage; a shift of attention toward collaboration with procurement professionals is needed.

It takes six to boogie: allocating cadaver kidneys in Eurotransplant.

In March 1996, a new allocation point system for cadaver kidneys, the Eurotransplant (ET) Kidney Allocation System (KAS), was introduced in ET, the first multinational organ exchange organization. The aims of ETKAS were to reduce average and maximum waiting time, to allow patients with rare human leukocyte antigen (HLA) phenotypes or combinations to receive an "optimal" offer, to keep the exchange rates between the participating countries balanced, and finally to keep optimal graft survival, by means of HLA matching. Elderly patients and highly sensitized patients profit in addition from special programs, the ET Senior Program and the Acceptable Mismatch Program, respectively. All kidneys are offered to the pool and are allocated according to the degree of HLA matching, mismatch probability, waiting time, distance from the donor center, and balance between the countries participating in ET. A summary of 6 years' experience with the ETKAS is presented in this article.

The heart-allocation simulation model: a tool for comparison of transplantation allocation policies.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have investigated prognostic factors for the survival of transplant candidates waiting for a donor organ, but little is known about the impact of allocation policies on waiting list outcome. Simulation models would allow a comparison of different policies for allocating donor hearts on pretransplant outcome. METHODS: A model was built for the Eurotransplant waiting list for heart transplantation. Survival and delisting distributions were estimated from the Eurotransplant transplant candidate inflow between 1995 and 2000 (n=7,142). Other characteristics were obtained directly from the transplant candidate inflow of 1999 and 2000 (n=2,097) and the donor organs of 1998 and 1999 (n=1,520). Overall and subgroup waiting list mortality were estimated for allocation policies differing by ABO blood group, border, and clinical profile rules. RESULTS: The model estimated that international organ exchange reduces waiting list mortality in the different countries by 1.9% to 12.4%. An allocation policy incorporating the initial clinical profile of the transplant candidates further reduced waiting list mortality by 1.7%. Changing ABO rules toward identical matching yielded a slightly more equitable survival for the different groups, without an overall effect on mortality. The best possible allocation policy is the policy where organs are allocated to patients that are at highest risk of dying, and withholding organs from patients that would eventually delist because of improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Patients benefit from international organ exchange and by a heart allocation scheme based on clinical profiles. Timely delisting of patients who are-temporarily-too well for transplantation is the best waiting list policy.

A prognostic model for predicting waiting-list mortality for a total national cohort of adult heart-transplant candidates.

BACKGROUND: Current trends in medical management of advanced heart failure and transplant medicine and the enactment of a national transplant law forced a change toward allocation driven by disease severity. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to create a model for predicting waiting-list survival on the basis of simple clinical parameters. METHODS: The clinical profiles of all patients registered for heart transplantation in Germany in 1997 (n=889) were used as a derivation set, and the total German 1998 cohort (n=897) was used as a validation set. The model was validated by the c statistic and by comparison of risk stratified mortality rates. The validated model was fine tuned by the appropriate calibration procedures. The data were first classified into physiologic subscores: an urgency score, a left ventricular heart failure score, a right ventricular heart failure score, and a systemic heart failure score. A stepwise modeling procedure was undertaken using these subscores as factors as well as the recipient's age, ABO blood group, and body surface area. RESULTS: The urgency and the left ventricular subscore were found to be significantly associated with waiting-list mortality. A summary index termed German Transplant Society (GTS) score was then calculated on the basis of seven parameters contained in these two subscores. The GTS score was able to predict waiting-list mortality risks for the 1998 cohort: 1-year mortality before transplantation was 71%, 34%, 11% for the high, medium, and low risk groups, respectively. CONCLUSION: The use of this continuous disease severity index may improve the selection of cardiac transplant candidates.

Differential immunogenicity of HLA mismatches: HLA-A2 versus HLA-A28.

The immunogenicity of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A2 versus HLA-A28 was analyzed by antibody production, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) induction, and graft survival. We observed that an HLA-A2 mismatched child in HLA-A28 women leads to HLA-A2 specific antibodies in 32% of the women (n=31), whereas in the case of an HLA-A28 child and HLA-A2 women (n=30), no HLA-A28 specific antibodies were found ( P<0.002). Also, the CTL precursor frequencies were significantly lower against HLA-A28 compared with CTLp frequencies against HLA-A2 ( P=0.012). Finally, the kidney graft survival was slightly better in HLA-A2 positive recipients transplanted with HLA-A28 mismatches. We can conclude that single HLA-A28 mismatches are less immunogenic in HLA-A2 individuals compared with single HLA-A2 mismatches in HLA-A28 individuals, which is probably because the mismatched epitopes on the HLA-A2 molecule are unique epitopes, whereas the mismatched epitopes on HLA-A28 are shared by other HLA-A and HLA-B molecules.

Three-year survival rates for all consecutive heart-only and lung-only transplants performed in Eurotransplant, 1997-1999.

The definition of proper patient selection criteria remains a prominent item in constant need of attention. While the concept of gathering evidence in order to determine practice continues to be hopelessly ambiguous, it can never be emphasized too much that these univariate results are just a first foray into analysing predictors of survival; all following results should be regarded and interpreted in this perspective. HEART TRANSPLANT SURVIVAL: The 3-year survival rate for heart transplant recipients under age 16 was 83% versus 72% for adult recipients. Acutely retransplanted adult heart recipients had a 3-year survival rate of 36% compared with 72% for recipients of a first heart allograft. Patients suffering from DCM had the best survival rates at 3 years (74%) compared with patients suffering from CAD (70%) or from another end-stage heart disease (67%). With advancing age of the adult recipient, the mortality risk increased. Patients aged 16-40 had a 3-year survival rate of 77%, compared with 74%, 70% and 61% for transplant recipients aged 41-55, 56-65 and over age 65, respectively. The 3-year survival rates for adult recipients transplanted with an heart allograft from a donor aged under 16 or between 16-44 were 78% and 74%, compared with 66% and 63% for donors aged 45-55 and over 55, respectively. The 3-year survival rates for recipients of hearts with cold ischemic times under 2 hours, 2-3, 3-4, 4-5, 5-6 and more than 6 hours were 74%, 75%, 70%, 65%, 54% and 40%, respectively. Transplanting a female donor heart into a male recipient was associated with the worst prognosis: the 3-year survival rates were 73%, 71%, 66% and 76%, respectively, for the donor/recipient groups male/male, male/female, female/male and female/female, respectively. When the donor-to-recipient body weight ratio was below 0.8, the 3-year survival rate was 64%, compared to 72% for weight-matched pairs and 74% for patients who received a heart from an oversized donor (p=0.004). Better survival rates were obtained for better HLA-matched transplants. The 3-year survival rates were 75%, 89%, 78%, 78%, 69%, 72%, and 71% for HLA-A,-B,-DR zero, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 mismatched groups, respectively (p=0.04). Survival was significantly associated with the CMV serologic status of the donor and recipient; the 3-year survival rates were: D+/R+, 71%; D+/R-, 69%; D- R-, 76%; and D-/R+, 76% (p=0.04). Patients in an ICU had a 3-year survival rate of 62%, compared to 72% for patients in a general ward and 74% for outpatients (p<0.0001). Patients that were on a VAD and there-upon transplanted had a 3-year survival rate of 65%, compared to 73% for patients without a VAD (p=0.004). Being on a ventilator was a major risk factor for death after transplantation; patients on ventilator support at the time of the transplant had a 3-year survival rate of 52% compared to 73% for the other patients (p<0.0001). LUNG TRANSPLANT SURVIVAL: The 3-year survival rate for children (73%) appeared to be better than the adult rate (61%; p=0.8). Adult lung transplant survival was significantly worse in the case of a repeat lung transplant; a 3-year retransplant survival rate of 42% was obtained compared with 61% for first transplants (p=0.049). With respect to the underlying end-stage lung disease, no statistically significant difference in long-term survival could be detected in this cohort. The 3-year survival rates were: 62% for COPD/Emphysema, 70% for CF, 58% for IPF, 64% for Alpha-1 ATD and 56% for PPH (p=0.2). Our data demonstrated no effect of the recipient's age on long-term lung transplant survival, except for 2 senior patients in this cohort. At 3-years the survival rates for recipients aged 16-40, 41-55 and 56-65 were 65%, 60% and 62%, respectively (p=0.05). The 3-year survival rates for transplants performed with lungs from donors aged under 16, 16-44, 45-55 and over 55 was 57%, 64%, 55% and 62%, respectively (p=0.1) No association between the duration of cold ischemic time and 3-year survival was observed; under 3 hours, 3-4, 4-5, 5-6 and over 6 hours of ischemia resulted in 3-year survival rates of 53%, 59%, 64%, 68% and 57%, respectively (p=0.2). Early posttransplant outcome tended to be better for gender-matched transplants, while transplanting a female donor lung into a male recipient was associated with the worst prognosis. The 3-year survival rates were 65% for male/male, 63% for male/female, 48% for female/male and 61% for female/female (p=0.009). No effect of donor-to-recipient weight match was observed in this Eurotransplant cohort; when the donor-to-recipient weight ratio was below 0.8, the 3-year survival rate was 57%, compared with 59% for weight-matched pairs and 64% for patients who received a lung from an oversized donor (p=0.5). Long-term survival after lung transplantation was influenced by HLA matching. The 3-year survival rates were 100%, 68%, 70%, 65%, 54% and 55% for the HLA-A,-B,-DR 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 mismatched groups, respectively (p=0.06). A donor CMV+ and recipient CMV- match was a risk factor for long-term mortality, with 3-year survival rates of 56% for D+/R+, 55% for D+/R-, 71% for D-/R- and 62% for D-/R+ transplants (p=0.046). En-bloc transplantation of both lungs yielded worse early results, but the 3-year survival rates for patients who underwent single (60%), bilateral sequential double lung (63%) and en-bloc double lung transplantation (56%) were not different (p=0.2). Ventilator dependency was associated with a significantly reduced survival at 3 years. Patients on a ventilator support at the time of the transplant had a 3-year survival rate of 48% compared with 63% for other patients (p=0.006).

The Eurotransplant Study on Twin Lung Transplants (ESOTWIN): 90 paired single-lung transplants from the same donor.

BACKGROUND: Despite its reduced benefit for a single recipient, the transplantation of two single-lung allografts as opposed to one bilateral lung transplant has the indisputable advantage of maximizing the number of patients that benefit from a single donor. METHODS: In the period 1997 to 1999, 90 paired single-lung transplants (SLTx) from 45 donors were performed in 16 lung centers in Eurotransplant, with a complete follow-up of 1 year. RESULTS: No significant differences between left- and right-lung allograft recipients were observed regarding age, sex, primary disease, number of human leukocyte antigen mismatches, cold ischemic time, and donor-to-recipient cytomegalovirus match. Early posttransplant outcome, as assessed by oxygenation index at 12, 24, and 48 hr, also did not differ significantly, and there were no differences in time to extubation and time spent in the intensive care unit. In the first month, six left- and three right-lung allograft recipients died. Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome developed in 5 of 39 left-lung and 10 of 42 right-lung allograft recipients. If the retrieval team was different from the transplanting team, a significantly worse 1-year posttransplant survival rate was seen in patients who underwent left SLTx compared with those who underwent right SLTx (62% vs. 92%, respectively; P=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: More fatal posttransplant complications occur in patients undergoing left SLTx compared with right SLTx. A less optimistic assessment of the left lung by the not-implanting retrieval team is warranted.

Evaluation of the Eurotransplant Senior Program. The results of the first year.

UNLABELLED: On 4 January 1999, the Eurotransplant Senior Program (ESP) was implemented within the Eurotransplant kidney allocation scheme. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Kidneys obtained from donors aged over 65 years of age (65+) were allocated to a selected group of nonimmunized 65+ patients undergoing their first transplant. All transplants were performed locally to minimize cold-ischemic time. All transplants performed with kidneys from elderly donors that were allocated via ESP (ESP group) were compared to transplants performed with similar kidneys allocated via the standard renal allocation system (control group). Initial kidney function and 1-year graft outcome were assessed. RESULTS: In 1999, 227 ESP and 102 control transplants were performed. The duration of cold-ischemic time was 12 and 19 h for the ESP and control groups, respectively. No rejection episodes occurred in 60% and 67% of the ESP patients and controls, respectively, while a direct kidney function was observed in 59% of ESP and 49% of control patients. The 1-year graft survival rates, censoring for graft losses due to deaths in patients with functioning grafts, were 86% and 79%, respectively. CONCLUSION: An old-for-old renal allocation algorithm can be successful provided that risk factors, such as cold-ischemic time, are reduced.