Brain Death Confirmation by 18F-FDG PET/CT: A Case Series.

Objectives: Brain death is a state of irreversible loss of brain function in the cortex and brainstem. Diagnosis of brain death is established by clinical assessments of cranial nerves and apnea tests. Different conditions can mimic brain death.

Role of Pre-Operative Brain Imaging in Patients with NSCLC Stage I: A Retrospective, Multicenter Analysis.

Lung cancer is the worldwide leading oncological cause of death in both genders combined and accounts for around 40-50% of brain metastases in general. In early-stage lung cancer, the incidence of brain metastases is around 3%. Since the early detection of asymptomatic cerebral metastases is of prognostic value, the aim of this study was to analyze the incidence of brain metastases in early-stage lung cancer and identify possible risk factors.

Reconstruction of Chest Wall by Cryopreserved Sternum Allograft After Resection of Sternal Hemangioma: A Case Report.

A 5-year-old girl was referred to our department for a mass of sternum that was previously biopsied and diagnosed as hemangioma. Chest X-ray and CT scan confirmed a large sternal mass. We resected the sternum completely and reconstructed a large anterior chest wall defect by a cryopreserved sternal allograft.

Organ Procurement From Poisoned Patients: A 14-Year Survey in 2 Academic Centers.

Objectives: Organ transplant from poisoned donors is an issue that has received much attention, especially over the past decade. Unfortunately, there are still opponents to this issue who emphasize that toxins and drugs affect the body's organs and do not consider organs from poisoned donors appropriate for transplantation.

Materials And Methods: Cases of brain death due to poisoning were collected from 2 academic centers in Tehran, Iran during a period from 2006 to 2020.

Indications and Results of Sternal Allograft Transplantation: Learning From a Worldwide Experience.

Background: Reconstruction of the anterior chest wall defect after sternectomy is a challenge for cardiothoracic surgeons. In 2010, the Padua group published the first case of cadaveric sternum transplantation after sternectomy. This multicenter study reports the clinical indications and early and long-term results of sternal chondral allograft transplantation.

Diffuse alveolar damage and thrombotic microangiopathy are the main histopathological findings in lung tissue biopsy samples of COVID-19 patients.

Background: Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) in December 2019, limited studies have investigated the histopathologic findings of patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Material And Methods: This study was conducted on 31 deceased patients who were hospitalized for COVID-19 in a tertiary hospital in Tehran, Iran. A total of 52 postmortem tissue biopsy samples were obtained from the lungs and liver of decedents.

Isolation of intimal endothelial cells from the human thoracic aorta: Study protocol.

Vessel endothelial cells are extensively applied to study the mechanism of atherosclerosis. Some cellular sources including human umbilical artery endothelial cells (HUAECs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) are mostly applied in the experimental studies. We described a method for isolating the human endothelial cells from the human thoracic aorta.

Three Markers in Cancerous and Healthy Cells of Patients with Non-Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma (NSCLC).

Introduction: Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death among males and females. The diagnosis of lung cancer is of great importance for clinical considerations and follow-up treatment. This study aimed to examine the expression of CEA, LUNX, and CK19 biomarkers in the cancerous and healthy tissues of patients suffering from NSCLC.

Liver Procurement from Poisoned Donors: A Survival Study.

Objectives: Although transplant teams understand the effects of donor characteristics on liver transplant outcomes, few studies have investigated the quality of livers obtained from poisoned donors. The aim of this study was to compare livers procured from poisoned donors with a matched control group.

Materials And Methods: Liver transplant outcomes from poisoned donors and from donors with trauma-induced death (as the control group) were compared using data of an Organ Procurement Unit from 2000 to 2013.

Causes of Deceased Donors Loss before Organ Retrieval.

Background: When potential brain dead donors are in line-up for organ retrieval, their loss would be such a disaster. The aim of this study was to detect the occurrence of different disorders leading to pre-retrieval donor's cardiac arrest and loss in order to prevent this energy and money wasting challenge.

Materials And Methods: In this observational study, medical records of potential donors from 2001 to 2016 who were lost after transfer to Organ Procurement Unit (OPU) of Masih Daneshvari Hospital and before organ donation were reviewed and weigh of every responsible disorder was tested.

Virology Tests in Brain-Dead Donors: Let the Bills Run Up?

Objectives: In the organ donation process, screening for serologic markers for a selection of agents is essential to prevent infection transmission. The screening of donors for specific potential infections can never absolutely exclude the risk of transmission. For reevaluation of serology tests, we analyzed results of tests requested for all brain-dead donors.

Role of Methylprednisolone in the Management of Hemodynamically Unstable Brain-Dead Cases.

Objectives: Optimal care of potential donors can lead to successful transplantation. Hemodynamic instability is a common complication in deceased potential donors. The most common underlying causes are hormonal and electrolyte disturbances as well as a hyperinflammatory state, which is rooted in activation of the cytokine cascade.

Liver Donation From Marginal Donors: To Donate or Not to Donate?

Objectives: Livers from deceased donors compose nearly 30% of all organ transplants, and about 700 liver transplants are carried out per year. Marginal livers (extended-criteria donors), however, are not usually accepted by recipient teams, and there is only one center for these procedures in Iran. The final decision is made according to criteria that are much more conservative than other globally accepted ones.

Demographic Differences Between Two 7-Year Periods of Organ Donation in Iran: A Single-Center Experience.

Objectives: Donor characteristics can directly affect transplant outcomes. In this study, we examined donor patterns in an organ procurement unit, which covered one-third of the population in Tehran, Iran over the past 12 years (2005 to 2018).

Materials And Methods: Demographic data of donors, including sex, age, cause of death, blood group, outcome of donation, number of organs per donor, and comorbidities (including diabetes mellitus and hypertension), were assessed.

Failed Organ Donations After Transfer to an Organ Procurement Unit.

Objectives: In Iran, each medical university can have one organ procurement unit for its own hospital. If the family consents, all patients with brain death must be transferred to the organ procurement unit. When brain death is officially confirmed and the family gives the second consent, the organs are then retrieved in the operating room.

Reasons for Donor Lungs Unsuitability After Radiographic Selection.

Objectives: Deceased lung donation requires optimum donor care, with lung viability greatly affected by the progress of the disease leading to brain death. In this study, we searched for causes of lung unsuitability for transplant in both primary and secondary evaluations.

Materials And Methods: Primary lung evaluations included chest radiography, oxygen challenge test, and donor clinical and history examination.

Consequences of More Coordinator Engagement to Take Consent for Organ Donation: Comparisons of New Versus Experienced Staff.

Objectives: The method of obtaining family consent for organ donation after occurrence of brain death in Iran is an opt-in process. Because of complicated cultural, legal, religious, and familial structures in Iran, it is not simple to take consent for organ donation in brain death situations. The process needs the professional staff to be experienced and have an appropriate personality to obtain consent.

Fatal Outcome of Ruptured Pulmonary Hydatid Cyst.

Most authors believe that the optimal treatment for pulmonary hydatid cyst is surgery. Albendazole has been used as a prophylactic measure for reducing recurrence rate but there are some controversies about this strategy. Some researchers have described the increased risk of spontaneous rupture of cysts following albendazole treatment.

Reconstruction of Chest Wall by Cryopreserved Sternal Allograft after Resection of Aneurysmal Bone Cyst of Sternum.

A 20-year-old female was referred to our hospital due to deformity and bulging in anterior aspect of chest wall in sternal area. Chest X-ray and CT scan confirmed a large mass with destruction of sternum. Pathologic diagnosis after incisional biopsy was compatible with aneurysmal bone cyst.

Impact of a Full-Time Donor Management Protocol on Donors' Liver Biopsy Findings: Progress to Date.

Objectives: This study investigated a fixed coordinator-directed donor management strategy's impact on donated liver quality, as determined by definitive biopsy results.

Materials And Methods: We collected donated liver biopsy results from donations both before and after implementing a fixed coordinator-directed donor management strategy. This strategy involved full-time attendance by a donor coordinator and continued resuscitation of brain-dead donors.

Pathology Results at Autopsy in Brain-Dead Patients with Brain Tumors.

Objectives: Brain tumors are the most challenging causes of brain deaths due to the lack of pathology results in many cases. It is not uncommon to find a brain tumor in a brain-dead patient with no pathology results or neuroradiology reports available; this would exclude the deceased from organ donation. The mortality that occurs while patients are on transplant wait lists motivated us to find a solution to prevent losing brain-dead patients as potential donors.

Role of More Active Identification of Brain-Dead Cases in Increasing Organ Donation.

Objectives: Organ donor shortage is a worldwide problem, resulting in 10% to 30% mortality rates for patients on wait lists for organ transplant. For brain-dead patients in Iran, it is mandatory for intensive care unit patients with Glasgow Coma Scale below 5/15 to be reported to an organ procurement unit. However, this process has not been functioning effectively.

Difficult Consent Scale: An Assessment Scale for Anticipated Difficulty in Obtaining Consent for Organ Donation.

Objectives: Seeking consent for organ procurement from a brain-dead patient 's family is challenging, especially in developing countries. In the Middle East, legislation necessitates an opt-in system that engages all first-degree relatives. To improve our success rate in the Masih Daneshvari Organ Procurement Unit in Tehran, Iran, we invented a scale for the consent process to predict the degree of difficulty of each family interview before venturing into it.