Feasibility of Lung Transplantation From Donation After Circulatory Death Donors Following Portable Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Donation after circulatory death (DCD) has the potential to significantly alleviate the shortage of transplantable lungs. We report our initial experience with the use of portable ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) with the Organ Care System Lung device for evaluation of DCD lungs. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of the DCD lung transplantation (LTx) experience at a single institution through the use of a prospective database. RESULTS: From 2011 to 2015, 208 LTx were performed at the University of Alberta, of which 11 were DCD LTx with 7 (64%) that underwent portable EVLP. DCD lungs preserved with portable EVLP had a significantly shorter cold ischemic time (161 ± 44 vs 234 ± 60 minutes, P = .045), lower grade of primary graft dysfunction at 72 hours after LTx (0.4 ± 0.5 vs 2.1 ± 0.7, P = .003), similar mechanical ventilation time (55 ± 44 vs 103 ± 97 hours, P = .281), and hospital length of stay (29 ± 11 vs 33 ± 10 days, P = .610). All patients were alive at 1-year follow-up after LTx with improved functional outcomes and acceptable quality of life compared with before LTx, although there were no intergroup differences. CONCLUSIONS: In our pilot cohort, portable EVLP was a feasible modality to increase confidence in the use of DCD lungs with validated objective evidence of lung function during EVLP that translates to acceptable clinical outcomes and quality of life after LTx. Further studies are needed to validate these initial findings in a larger cohort.

Outcomes of Lung Transplantation in Recipients With Hepatitis C Virus Infection.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection negatively impacts patient and graft survival following nonhepatic solid organ transplantation. Most data, however, are in kidney transplant, where despite modest impact on outcomes, transplantation is recommended for those with mild to moderate hepatic fibrosis given overall benefit compared to remaining on dialysis. In lung transplantation (LuTx), there is little data on outcomes and international guidelines are vague on the criteria under which transplant should be considered. The University of Alberta Lung Transplant Program routinely considers patients with HCV for lung transplant based on criteria extrapolated from the kidney transplant literature. Here we describe the outcomes of 27 HCV-positive, compared to 443 HCV-negative LuTx recipients. Prior to transplant, five patients were treated for HCV and cured. At the time of transplant, 14 patients remained HCV RNA positive. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival were similar in HCV RNA-positive versus -negative recipients at 93%, 77%, and 77% versus 86%, 75%, and 66% (p = 0.93), respectively. Long-term follow-up in eight patients demonstrated no significant progression of fibrosis. In our cohort, HCV did not impact LuTx outcomes and in the era of interferon-free HCV therapies this should not be a barrier to LuTx.

Long-term outcome of lung transplantation in previous intravenous drug users with talc lung granulomatosis.

Talc lung granulomatosis results from the intravenous use of medication intended for oral use. Talc (magnesium silicate) acts as filler in some oral medications; when injected intravenously, it deposits in the lungs leading to airflow obstruction and impaired gas exchange. Allocation of donor lungs to previous intravenous drug users is controversial. After a careful selection process, 19 patients with talc lung granulomatosis have received lung allografts in our program. Long-term survival for these patients is excellent and our results suggest the previous use of intravenous drugs should not necessarily preclude lung transplantation.