Artificial Intelligence to Predict Quality-of-Life Outcomes for Vascular Intervention of the Leg.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) tools created to enhance decision-making may have a significant impact on treatment algorithms for peripheral arterial disease (PAD). A Markov-based AI model was developed to predict optimal therapy based on maximization of calculated quality of life (cQoL), a patient-centered system of assessment designed to report outcomes directly linked to health-related quality of life.

Study Design: The AI model was prospectively interrogated immediately after individual interventions for PAD over a 12-year period to test predictive performance.

Waitlist and Transplant Outcomes in Organ Donation After Circulatory Death: Trends in the United States.

Objectives: To summarize waitlist and transplant outcomes in kidney, liver, lung, and heart transplantation using organ donation after circulatory death (DCD).

Background: DCD has expanded the donor pool for solid organ transplantation, most recently for heart transplantation.

Methods: The United Network for Organ Sharing registry was used to identify adult transplant candidates and recipients in the most recent allocation policy eras for kidney, liver, lung, and heart transplantation.

Long-term Outcomes Following a Comprehensive Quality Assurance and Process Improvement Endeavor to Minimize Opioid Use After Kidney Transplant.

Importance: Opioid use following kidney transplant is associated with an increased risk of graft loss and mortality. Opioid minimization strategies and protocols have shown reductions in short-term opioid use after kidney transplant.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term outcomes associated with an opioid minimization protocol following kidney transplant.

Multilevel Intervention to Improve Racial Equity in Access to Kidney Transplant.

Background: African Americans (AAs) have reduced access to kidney transplant (KTX). Our center undertook a multilevel quality improvement endeavor to address KTX access barriers, focused on vulnerable populations. This program included dialysis center patient/staff education, embedding telehealth services across South Carolina, partnering with community providers to facilitate testing/procedures, and increased use of high-risk donors.

Impaired Cellular and Antibody immunity after COVID-19 in Chronically Immunosuppressed Transplant Recipients.

Assessment of cellular immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is of great interest in chronically immunosuppressed transplant recipients (Tr), who are predisposed to infections and vaccination failures. We evaluated CD154-expressing T-cells induced by spike (S) antigenic peptides in 204 subjects-103 COVID-19 patients and 101 healthy unexposed subjects. S-reactive CD154+T-cell frequencies were a) higher in 42 healthy unexposed Tr who were sampled pre-pandemic, compared with healthy NT (p=0.