Does Implant Choice Affect the Episode Cost of Pertrochanteric Hip Fracture for US Veterans?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate an association between a surgeon's choice of a cephalomedullary nail (CMN) or sliding hip screw (SHS) with the cost of treating a pertrochanteric hip fracture. DESIGN: Multicenter retrospective cohort study. SETTING: US Veterans Health Administration Sierra Pacific Network. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred ninety-four consecutive US veterans admitted for a principal diagnosis of an OTA/AO 31A-type pertrochanteric hip fracture of a native hip from 2000 to 2015. INTERVENTION: Internal fixation using a CMN or an SHS. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Veterans Administration Health Economic Resource Center average national cost estimate of combined acute and postacute care episode cost, excluding implant cost, normalized to 2015 US dollars by the Consumer Price Index. RESULTS: Median episode cost was $8223 lower with a CMN than an SHS (95% confidence interval, $5700-$10,746, P < 0.001) after matching on a propensity score for treatment with a CMN based on age, sex, body mass index, Charlson Comorbidity Index, fracture characteristics, study site, and admission year. A subgroup propensity-matched analysis excluding reverse obliquity pertrochanteric fractures was not sufficiently powered to detect a difference in episode cost (ß = 0.76, P = 0.311). CONCLUSIONS: Implant choice significantly affected the episode cost of care of hip fracture at Veterans Health Administration facilities. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Economic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Postoperative Recovery Outcomes in Adult Scoliosis: A Prospective Multicenter Database With 5-Year Follow-Up.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review of a prospective, multi-institutional database. OBJECTIVES: To determine postoperative quality of life outcomes in scoliosis patients using the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) at defined time points. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Spinal surgery provides significant improvement in both pain and disability in adults with scoliosis compared with conservative treatment; however, the postoperative timing of improvements in quality of life outcomes has not been studied. METHODS: This was a retrospective review of a prospective, multi-center database with 1,750 patients. All patients completed the ODI at first encounter and at 6 follow-ups (6 weeks, 6 months, and 1, 2, 3, and 5 years). The authors stratified by age, primary versus revision, staged surgery, anatomical region of surgery, complexity (osteotomy and levels), and complications (intraoperative and postoperative). RESULTS: At baseline and most follow-up visits, older patients, those with revision surgeries, and those who had an osteotomy had significantly higher ODI scores than did young patients, those with primary surgeries, and those who did not have an osteotomy. All stratified groups showed a significant ODI score decrease between 6 weeks' and 6 months' follow-up. However, most of the stratified group patients' outcomes remained unchanged throughout the postoperative recovery period from 1 to 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical treatment has the potential to significantly improve the quality of life of patients with adult scoliosis. An understanding of the timing of improvement after surgery will improve both the counseling of surgical candidates and patient care pathways.

Barriers to completion of Patient Reported Outcome Measures.

Patient Reported Outcomes Measures (PROMs) are commonly used in total joint arthroplasty (TJA) to assess surgical outcomes. However certain patient populations may be underrepresented due to lower survey completion rates. The purpose of this study is to evaluate factors that influence PROM completion rates for 1997 TJA patients between 7/1/2007 and 12/31/2010. Completion rates were lower among patients who were over 75, Hispanic or Black, had Medicare or Medicaid, TKA patients and revision TJA patients (P<0.05 for all comparisons). Having multiple risk factors further reduced completion rates (P<0.001). Overall participation increased significantly during the study period, after electronic data capture methods were introduced. Awareness of these factors may help physicians and researchers improve participation of all patient populations so they are well represented in TJA outcomes research.

Where do knee revisions for infection, fracture, and other revisions get treated?

Complicated knee revision procedures require specific expertise that may not be available across the healthcare network. Teaching hospitals appear to perform more knee revisions overall than urban or rural hospitals. We examined the location of care and payer status for all knee revisions including complex revisions (infection, periprosthetic fracture). Although only 39.7% of all primary total knee cases were performed in teaching hospitals, over half of all knee revisions were performed in teaching hospitals. Knee revision procedures, including treatment of periprosthetic infections and fractures are performed more often in teaching hospitals than in urban and rural settings combined. Reimbursement that does not match the cost of care for complex revision and infection cases may have a disproportionate impact on teaching hospitals.

Value-based care in the management of spinal disorders: a systematic review of cost-utility analysis.

BACKGROUND: Spinal disorders are a major cause of disability and compromise in health-related quality of life. The direct and indirect costs of treating spinal disorders are estimated at more than $100 billion per year. With limited resources, the cost-utility of interventions is important for allocating resources. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: We therefore performed a systematic review of the literature on cost-utility for nonoperative and operative interventions for treating spinal disorders. METHODS: We searched four databases for cost-utility analysis studies on low back pain management and identified 1004 items. The titles and abstracts of 752 were screened before selecting 27 studies for inclusion; full texts of these 27 studies were individually evaluated by five individuals. RESULTS: Studies of nonoperative treatments demonstrated greater value for graded activity over physical therapy and pain management; spinal manipulation over exercise; behavioral therapy and physiotherapy over advice; and acupuncture and exercise over usual general practitioner care. Circumferential fusion and femoral ring allograft had greater value than posterolateral fusion and titanium cage, respectively. The relative cost-utility of operative versus nonoperative interventions was variable with the most consistent evidence indicating superior value of operative care for treating spinal disorders involving nerve compression and instability. CONCLUSION: The literature on cost-utility for treating spinal disorders is limited. Studies addressing cost-utility of nonoperative and operative management of low back pain encompass a broad spectrum of diagnoses and direct comparison of treatments based on cost-utility thresholds for comparative effectiveness is limited by diversity among disorders and methods to assess cost-utility. Future research will benefit from uniform methods and comparison of treatments in cohorts with well-defined pathology.

The validity of using administrative claims data in total joint arthroplasty outcomes research.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate concordance between administrative and clinical diagnosis and procedure codes for revision total joint arthroplasty (TJA). Concordance between administrative and clinical records was determined for 764 consecutive revision TJA procedures from 4 hospitals. For revision total hip arthroplasty, concordance between clinical diagnoses and administrative claims was very good for dislocation, mechanical loosening, and periprosthetic joint infection (all kappa > 0.6), but considerably lower for prosthetic implant failure/breakage and other mechanical complication (both kappa < 0.25). Similarly, for revision total knee arthroplasty diagnoses, concordance was very good for periprosthetic fracture, periprosthetic joint infection, mechanical loosening, and osteolysis (all kappa > 0.60), but much lower for implant failure/breakage and other mechanical complication (both kappa < 0.24). Concordance for TJA-specific procedure codes was very good only for revision total knee arthroplasty patellar component revisions and tibial insert exchange procedures. Total (all-component) revisions were overcoded for hips (00.70) and undercoded for knees (00.80). Improved clinical documentation and continued education are needed to enhance the value of these codes.

Cost and effectiveness of postoperative fever diagnostic evaluation in total joint arthroplasty patients.

The purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics and costs of postoperative fever diagnostic evaluations after total joint arthroplasty. All patients who underwent hip and knee arthroplasty (n = 1100) at a single institution for a 2-year period were included. Fever (temperature > or = 38.5 degrees C) occurred in 15% of patients. The rate of positive tests was as follows: chest radiograph (2%), blood culture (6%), urine culture (22%), and urinalysis (23.7%). Fever occurring after postoperative day 3 (odds ratio [OR] 23.3; P < .001) and multiple days febrile (OR, 8.6; P = .003) are independent predictors of a positive workup, and patients with a maximum temperature of 39.0 degrees C or higher (25.4% vs 6.9%; P = .001) had a significantly higher rate of positive fever evaluations. The total direct cost associated with fever evaluations was $73 878, and cost per change in clinical management was $8209. Fever is a common occurrence after hip and knee arthroplasty, and many elements of an infectious evaluation are costly and clinically unnecessary.

Increasing incidence of new-onset diabetes after transplant among pediatric renal transplant patients.

BACKGROUND: Risk of new-onset diabetes after transplant (NODAT) is well characterized for adults but much less understood in pediatric transplant. This study examines the incidence and risk factors of NODAT in pediatric renal transplant patients. METHODS: The incidence of NODAT over the first 3 years after transplant was examined with the United States Renal Data System data for primary renal transplant recipients (ages 0-21 years, transplanted between 1995 and 2004) with Medicare primary. Patients had no evidence of diabetes before transplant. We estimated the cumulative incidence rate and used Cox proportional hazards regression to identify the risk factors for NODAT. Propensity scores were calculated for immunosuppression choice to adjust for potential confounding factors. RESULTS: Two thousand one hundred sixty-eight recipients with valid immunosuppression records and without pretransplant evidence of diabetes were included. Unadjusted, cumulative NODAT incidence at 3 years posttransplant was 7.1%. Significant factors for increased risk of NODAT included cytomegalovirus D+/R- serostatus (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]=1.60), age 13 to 18 years (aHR=2.18), age 19 to 21 years (aHR=2.60), body mass index more than or equal to 30 kg/m (aHR=2.17), and use of tacrolimus (aHR=1.51). We failed to find any significant relationships between NODAT and graft failure or death. CONCLUSIONS: Although the incidence of NODAT among patients aged 0 to 21 years is lower than that for adult patients, it is higher than suggested by earlier research and may represent an increase over time. The lack of association between NODAT and graft or failure death has important implications for posttransplant care. A clearer understanding of risk factors can help guide posttransplant monitoring and clinical decision making.

Crossmatch testing in kidney transplantation: patterns of practice and associations with rejection and graft survival.

Methods of crossmatch testing prior to kidney transplantation are not standardized and there are limited large-scale data on the use and outcomes implications of crossmatch modality. Data describing the most sensitive crossmatch modality for crossmatch-negative kidney transplants were drawn from the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network Registry. Within the cohort transplanted in 1999-2005, we identified patient and transplant characteristics predictive of each testing modality by multivariate logistic regression. We assessed associations of crossmatch modality with rejection risk by logistic regression and with graft survival by Cox's hazards analysis. Among 230,995 transplants, use of flow cytometry with T-and B-lymphocytes (T&B FC) increased progressively in 1987-2005. Among the recent transplants performed in 1999-2005 (n=64,320), negative T&B FC crossmatch was associated with 15% lower relative risk of first-year acute rejection (adjusted HR 0.85, 95% CI 0.80-0.89) compared to negative T-antihuman-globulin and B-National Institutes of Health/Wash (T AHG &B) crossmatch. Five-year graft survival after transplant with negative T&B FC (82.6%) was modestly better than after negative T AHG &B (81.4%, P= 0.008) or T AHG crossmatch (81.1%, P 0.0001), but on adjusted analysis was significantly different only among recipients from deceased donors and patients aged > 60 years. Many subgroups for whom negative T&B FC crossmatch predicted lower rejection risk (Caucasians, deceased donor recipients, re-transplants) were not more likely to be crossmatched by this method. We conclude that current practice patterns have not aligned utilization of T&B FC crossmatch with associated benefits. Prospective evaluation of the relationship of crossmatch modality with outcomes is warranted.

Living donor kidney versus simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant in type I diabetics: an analysis of the OPTN/UNOS database.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Transplant options for type I diabetics with end-stage renal disease include simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPKT), living donor kidney (LDKT), and deceased donor kidney transplant (DDKT). It is unclear whether SPKT offers a survival benefit over LDKT in the current era of transplantation. The authors compared outcomes of kidney transplant recipients with type I diabetes using data from the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network/United Network for Organ Sharing. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: Adult (age 20 to 59) type I diabetics who received a solitary first-time kidney transplant between 2000 and 2007 were studied. Outcomes included overall kidney graft and patient survival. Multivariate analysis was performed using a stepwise Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: Kidney graft survival was better for recipients of LDKT compared with SPKT (P = 0.008), although patient survival was similar (P = 0.346). On multivariate analysis, LDKT was associated with lower adjusted risks over 72 mo follow-up of kidney graft failure (HR 0.71; 95% CI 0.61 to 0.83) and patient death (HR 0.78; 95% CI 0.65 to 0.94) versus SPKT. Compared with DDKT, SPKT had superior unadjusted kidney graft and patient survival, partly due to favorable SPKT donor and recipient factors. CONCLUSIONS: Despite more transplants from older donors and among older recipients, LDKT was associated with superior outcomes compared with SPKT and was coupled with the least wait time and dialysis exposure. LDKT utilization should be considered in all type I diabetics with an available living donor, particularly given the challenges of ongoing organ shortage.

Kidney transplant outcomes in patients with Fabry disease.

BACKGROUND: Fabry disease is a rare but important cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) among young men. Postkidney transplantation outcomes among patients with Fabry disease remain controversial. METHODS: Using data from Organ Procurement Transplant Network/United Network for Organ Sharing, 197 kidney transplant recipients with ESRD because of Fabry disease from 1987 to 2007 were identified. We compared rates of graft loss and death with those of kidney transplant recipients with other (non-Fabry) causes of ESRD. Fabry patients were then compared with a 10:1 matched cohort of transplant recipients with other causes of ESRD. RESULTS: Five-year graft survival was superior among Fabry patients (74%) compared with those with other causes of ESRD (69%), but was similar to those in the matched cohort (P=0.64). Five-year patient survival among Fabry patients (81%) was similar to those with other causes of ESRD (P=0.33), but was inferior to the matched cohort (90%). Cox multivariate analysis revealed that Fabry patients had a 40% lower risk of returning to dialysis compared with both matched and unmatched cohorts, but had a higher risk of death (2.15; 1.52-3.02) compared with the matched cohort. CONCLUSION: This analysis of 197 kidney transplant recipients with Fabry indicates that they have superior graft survival and similar patient survival compared with patients with other causes of ESRD. However, Fabry patients had a higher risk of death compared with a matched cohort of patients with other causes of ESRD. This requires further investigation and may suggest a need for further attention to the minimization of cardiovascular death in this group of patients.

The evolving notion of "senior" kidney transplant recipients.

The maximum age of recipients expected to benefit with a kidney transplant has increased in the past three decades. In 1980, patients older than age 50 were not listed for a transplant. In 2004, almost 90% aged 50-60 yr with end-stage renal disease were listed, and some were even older than age 80. We summarize previous articles to illustrate how the notion of "senior" has evolved for kidney transplantation, and using data reported to the Organ Procurement Transplant Network, describe characteristics, treatments and outcomes in recipients older than 50 yr. Fractions of male, white, non-obese, unsensitized recipients and use of expanded criteria donors increased in cohorts with increasing recipient age. The percentage of recipients with hypertension or diabetes decreased, but the percentage with cancer increased. The fraction spared steroids increased with increasing age, but other aspects of immunosuppression were not remarkably different. No differences in early outcomes were notable, and elderly recipients likely did not return to dialysis. However, both graft and patient survival rates decreased with increasing age. Although a small fraction was selected, and survival rates were lower, patients older than 80 yr received kidney transplants.

Expanding the evidence base in transplantation: the complementary roles of randomized controlled trials and outcomes research.

Transplantation offers a unique opportunity to demonstrate the complementary roles of randomized controlled trials and outcome research. The surgery and collaboration necessary for the transplant procedure makes randomization and blinding difficult. Because essentially every recipient is included in a transplant registry, sampling bias is minimized. Regulatory agencies generally do not consider outcomes research when assessing efficacy of new drugs or medical interventions. This workgroup summary examines the suitability of outcomes research to complement results of randomized controlled trials and related issues: efficacy versus effectiveness, internal versus external validity, data types, limitations, and analysis methodologies. Many advances in outcomes research have been pioneered in transplantation. A case is made for regulatory and reimbursement authorities to use outcomes research when making efficacy, effectiveness, and coverage decisions in transplantation.

Increased risk of graft failure in kidney transplant recipients after a diagnosis of dyspepsia or gastroesophageal reflux disease.

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal complications are common in patients who undergo kidney transplantation and may affect posttransplant outcomes. We examined the incidence and predictors of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and dyspepsia and their associations with graft survival and mortality after transplant. METHODS: We examined United States Renal Data System data and Medicare billing claims to identify diagnoses of dyspepsia and GERD among Medicare beneficiaries transplanted in 1995-2002 (n=42,257). Among GERD cases, we identified patients with reflux esophagitis (RE). We determined independent predictors of upper gastrointestinal complications and modeled these conditions as time-dependent outcomes predictors with Cox regression. RESULTS: The 3-year cumulative incidences of GERD, RE, and dyspepsia were 20%, 5%, and 6%, respectively. Overall, 23% of transplant recipients received a diagnosis of at least one of these complications by 3 years after transplant. Female gender and a pretransplant upper gastrointestinal disease diagnosis predicted posttransplant gastrointestinal complications. Older age, obesity, Caucasian, and African-American race were associated to increased risk of developing GERD. Patients diagnosed with any of the examined upper gastrointestinal complications experienced an increased risk of graft-failure (hazard ratio 1.58; 95% confidence interval 1.48-1.69) and death (hazard ratio 1.61; 95% confidence interval 1.46-1.77). CONCLUSIONS: Upper gastrointestinal complications are relatively common after kidney transplantation and are associated with a significantly increased risk of graft loss and death. Further research is needed to elucidate mechanisms underlying the observed adverse prognoses conferred by diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal complications after kidney transplant.

Incidence and risk factors for diarrhea following kidney transplantation and association with graft loss and mortality.

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal complications after kidney transplantation are associated with inferior graft outcomes. We examined the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of posttransplantation diarrhea. STUDY DESIGN: Historic cohort study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: We examined first kidney transplant recipients in the United States from 1995 to 2002, with follow-up through December 2002. Recipients of multiple organs were excluded. We limited our study population to Medicare beneficiaries. PREDICTORS: Recipient, donor, and transplant characteristics were ascertained by means of US Renal Data System database inquiry. OUTCOMES: Incidence of diarrhea, graft loss, and death after transplantation. First episodes of diarrhea after transplantation were ascertained by using International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes using Medicare billing data. Cause of diarrhea was classified as infectious or not and according to specific cause. Graft loss and death were ascertained from the date of the first diarrhea episode. RESULTS: We enrolled 41,442 patients. Mean follow-up was 758 +/- 399 days. We observed 7,103 diarrhea cases and 8,104 graft losses (4,201 deaths). The 3-year cumulative incidence of diarrhea was 22%, with 18% diagnosed as noninfectious diarrhea with an unspecified cause. Using multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis, factors associated with increased risk of unspecified noninfectious diarrhea were female sex (hazard ratio [HR], 1.40; 95% confidence interval, 1.33 to 1.48), type 1 diabetes (HR, 1.20; 95% confidence interval, 1.06 to 1.37), and regimens containing tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil (HR, 1.37; 95% confidence interval, 1.28 to 1.46). Unspecified noninfectious diarrhea was associated with increased risk of graft failure (HR, 2.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.98 to 2.28) and patient death (HR, 2.04; 95% confidence interval, 1.85 to 2.24). LIMITATIONS: Use of claims data to ascertain patient characteristics and events; inability to make causal inference based on retrospective designs. CONCLUSIONS: Regimens containing tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil were associated with increased risk of noninfectious diarrhea. Episodes of noninfectious diarrhea doubled the hazard of graft loss and patient death.

Delivery patterns of recommended chronic kidney disease care in clinical practice: administrative claims-based analysis and systematic literature review.

BACKGROUND: Clinical practice guidelines for management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) have been developed within the Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (K/DOQI). Adherence patterns may identify focus areas for quality improvement. METHODS: We retrospectively studied contemporary CKD care patterns within a private health system in the United States, and systematically reviewed literature of reported practices internationally. Five hundred and nineteen patients with moderate CKD (estimated GFR 30-59 ml/min) using healthcare benefits in 2002-2005 were identified from administrative insurance records. Thirty-three relevant publications in 2000-2006 describing care in 77,588 CKD patients were reviewed. Baseline demographic traits and provider specialty were considered as correlates of delivered care. Testing consistent with K/DOQI guidelines and prevalence of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker (ACEi/ARB) medication prescriptions were ascertained from billing claims. Care descriptions in the literature sample were based on medical charts, electronic records and/or claims. RESULTS: KDOQI-consistent measurements of parathyroid hormone (7.1 vs. 0.6%, P = 0.0002), phosphorus (38.2 vs. 1.9%, P < 0.0001) and quantified urinary protein (23.8 vs. 9.4%, P = 0.008) were more common among CKD patients with versus without nephrology referral in the administrative data. Nephrology referral correlated with increased likelihood of testing for parathyroid hormone and phosphorus after adjustment for baseline patient factors. Use of ACEi/ARB medications was more common among patients with nephrology contact (50.0 vs. 30.0%; P = 0.008) but appeared largely driven by higher comorbidity burden. The literature review demonstrated similar practice patterns. CONCLUSIONS: Delivery of CKD care may be monitored by administrative data. There is opportunity for improvement in CKD guideline adherence in practice.

The impact of human leukocyte antigen matching on transplant complications and immunosuppression dosage.

Administrative claims data facilitate ascertainment of outcomes not collected by the transplant registry and provide the opportunity to examine prescribed doses of immunosuppressive medications. Here, we examine the impact of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matching on traditional outcomes, rejection and survival, and use novel methods to examine immunosuppresion doses and complication rates. The central hypothesis tested in this analysis is that HLA-matched recipients receive lower doses of immunosuppression and have fewer posttransplant complications. We break from tradition by examining HLA matching in both living and deceased donor kidney transplants. As secondary aims, we compare the relative impact of class I and II mismatches and describe outcomes achieved with older donors. Medicare claims linked to the United States Renal Data System database for 23,443 kidney transplants were included in the study. A total of 15,793 transplants were DR mismatched (DRMM), 5,340 manifested no DR mismatches (NODRMM), and 2,310 manifested no ABDR mismatches (NOABDRMM). Patients with NOABDRMM experienced lower adjusted risk of rejection (0.66, 95% confidence interval 0.59-0.74, P < 0.001) and lower hazard of graft loss (0.69, 0.61-0.77, P < 0.001) and death (0.76, 0.63-0.92, P < 0.001) compared with those with DRMM. The hazard of cardiac and diabetic complications was similar between recipients of NOADRMM and DRMM transplants, but the hazard of diarrhea was significantly lower (0.82, 0.73-0.92, P < 0.001) in patients with NOABDRMM. The 6-month dose of mycophenolate mofetil was lower in patients with NOABDRMM. This study validates previous studies that indicated significantly lower risks of rejection, graft loss, and death among patients with 0 HLA-A,B,DR mismatches. Use of administrative claims revealed similar rates of cardiovascular complications. However, HLA-matched deceased donor recipients received lower dosages of mycophenolate mofetil and manifested a lower risk of developing posttransplant diarrhea.

Health insurance considerations for adolescent transplant recipients as they transition to adulthood.

The advent of improved immunosuppression and enhanced allograft outcomes has resulted in a growing number of patients taking expensive immunosuppression medications for the rest of their lives. Healthcare costs for the majority of transplantation procedures in the USA currently are covered by Medicare, but coverage ends for outpatient immunosuppression medications 36-44 months after transplantation. Two or three immunosuppressive agents typically are included in post-transplant regimens with a total annual cost that can exceed 13,000 dollars. This represents a significant financial burden for families no matter if they have adequate health insurance coverage because of co-payment obligations. Evidence suggests that some patients have reduced immunosuppression doses because of an inability to afford their medication, increasing the risk of graft failure. The purpose of this article was to review these and other issues pertaining to medical insurance coverage and transplantation, particularly for adolescent recipients as they transition to adulthood.

HLA mismatching within or outside of cross-reactive groups (CREGs) is associated with similar outcomes after unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

The National Marrow Donor Program maintains a registry of volunteer donors for patients in need of a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Strategies for selecting a partially HLA-mismatched donor vary when a full match cannot be identified. Some transplantation centers limit the selection of mismatched donors to those sharing mismatched antigens within HLA-A and HLA-B cross-reactive groups (CREGs). To assess whether an HLA mismatch within a CREG group ("minor") may result in better outcome than a mismatch outside CREG groups ("major"), we analyzed validated outcomes data from 2709 bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell transplantations. Three-hundred and ninety-six pairs (15%) were HLA-DRB1 allele matched but had an antigen-level mismatch at HLA-A or HLA-B. Univariate and multivariate analyses of engraftment, graft-versus-host disease, and survival showed that outcome is not significantly different between minor and major mismatches (P = .47, from the log-rank test for Kaplan-Meier survival). However, HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DRB1 allele-matched cases had significantly better outcome than mismatched cases (P < .001). For patients without an HLA match, the selection of a CREG-compatible donor as tested does not improve outcome.

Outcomes of renal transplantation for recipients with lupus nephritis: analysis of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database.

Prior analyses of transplant outcomes in lupus transplant recipients have not consisted of multivariate analyses in the modern immunosuppressive era. Here, we compared patient and graft outcomes in lupus and non-lupus recipients transplanted between 1996 to 2000 using the United Network of Organ Sharing/Organ Procurement Transplant Network database. We evaluated the impact of recipient and donor demographic factors, time on dialysis and the initial immunosuppression regimen on rejection rates and transplant outcomes. Univariate analysis showed similar graft but better patient survival rates for primary lupus and non-lupus transplant recipients (5-year patient survival rates for lupus cohort 85.2% for deceased donor transplants and 92.1% for living donor transplants as opposed to 82.1% and 89.8% respectively for the non-lupus cohort; P=0.05 and 0.03) but similar patient survival rates for deceased donor retransplant patients. After controlling for confounding factors, no differences in patient or graft survival were seen between the two groups. No difference in acute rejection rates were observed in deceased donor transplants, but there was a small but significant increase in the risk of acute rejection in living donor lupus transplant recipients (hazard ratio=1.19, P=0.05). Risk of graft failure was lower for deceased donor recipients receiving MMF (five-year graft loss rate=29.6% for MMF vs. 40.2% for those not receiving MMF, P<0.0001), but no differences were seen among living donor recipients. Outcomes were similar regardless of type of calcineurin inhibitor, induction therapy, and time on dialysis. We conclude that lupus transplant recipients have outcomes generally equivalent to non-lupus transplant recipients.