Safety and Clinical Outcomes of Using Low-Molecular-Weight Dextran During Islet Autotransplantation in Children.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate potential safety and clinical benefit of low-molecular-weight dextran (dextran) use in patients undergoing total pancreatectomy with islet auto transplantation (TPIAT).

Methods: We evaluated 124 children undergoing TPIAT at a single institution, either with (n = 72) or without (n = 52) perioperative dextran infusion. Data on islet graft function and postoperative complications were collected through electronic medical records and patient-reported outcomes from research questionnaires.

Islet Oxygen Consumption Rate (OCR) Dose Predicts Insulin Independence in Clinical Islet Autotransplantation.

Background: Reliable in vitro islet quality assessment assays that can be performed routinely, prospectively, and are able to predict clinical transplant outcomes are needed. In this paper we present data on the utility of an assay based on cellular oxygen consumption rate (OCR) in predicting clinical islet autotransplant (IAT) insulin independence (II). IAT is an attractive model for evaluating characterization assays regarding their utility in predicting II due to an absence of confounding factors such as immune rejection and immunosuppressant toxicity.