Survival following liver transplantation: A population-based nested case-control study.

Background: Liver transplantation is the gold standard treatment for end-stage liver disease. This study evaluates post-transplantation survival compared with the general population by quantifying standardized mortality ratios in a nested case-control study.

Methods: Controls were noninstitutionalized United States inhabitants from the National Longitudinal Mortality Study.

Sleeve Gastrectomy Reduces the Need for Liver Transplantation in Patients with Obesity and Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis: a Predictive Model.

Background: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is one of the leading indications for liver transplantation (LT) in the United States. As with the current obesity epidemic, the incidence of NASH continues to rise. However, the impact of broad utilization of bariatric surgery (BS) for patients with NASH is unknown, particularly in regard to mitigating the need for LT.

Ventricular Remodeling Following Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Decreases Need for Heart Transplantation: A Predictive Model.

Purpose: For patients with obesity and congestive heart failure (CHF) who require heart transplantation (HT), aggressive weight loss has been associated with ventricular remodeling, or subclinical alterations in left and right ventricular structure that affect systolic function. Many have suggested offering metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) for these patients. As such, we evaluated the role of MBS in HT for patients with obesity and CHF using predictive modelling techniques.

Uncontrolled donation after cardiac death kidney transplantation: Opportunity to expand the donor pool?

Background: Compared to controlled donation after cardiac death (cDCD), uncontrolled DCD (uDCD) kidney transplantation remains an underutilized resource in the United States. However, it is unclear whether long-term allograft outcomes following uDCD are inferior to that of cDCD kidney transplantation.

Methods: From January 1995 to January 2018, the OPTN/UNOS database was queried to discover all reported cases of uDCD and cDCD kidney transplantation.

Quality and readability of online patient information on the left ventricular assist device.

Background: As patients seek online health information to supplement their medical decision-making, the aim of this study is to assess the quality and readability of internet information on the left ventricular assist device (LVAD).

Methods: Three online search engines (Google, Bing, and Yahoo) were searched for "LVAD" and "Left ventricular assist device." Included websites were classified as academic, foundation/advocacy, hospital-affiliated, commercial, or unspecified.

Can non-directed living liver donation help improve access to grafts and correct socioeconomic disparities in pediatric liver transplantation?

Background: Each year, children die awaiting LT as the demand for grafts exceeds the available supply. Candidates with public health insurance are significantly less likely to undergo both deceased donor LT and D-LLD LT. ND-LLD is another option to gain access to a graft.

Surgical Treatment of Short Bowel Syndrome-The Past, the Present and the Future, a Descriptive Review of the Literature.

Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is a devastating disorder with both short- and long-term implications for patients. Unfortunately, the prevalence of SBS has doubled over the past 40 years. Broadly speaking, the etiology of SBS can be categorized as congenital or secondary, the latter typically due to extensive small bowel resection following diseases of the small intestine, e.

Living Donor Liver Transplant Center Volume Influences Waiting List Survival Among Children Listed for Liver Transplantation.

Background: Pediatric living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) remains infrequently performed in the United States and localized to a few centers. This study aimed to compare pediatric waiting list and posttransplant outcomes by LDLT center volume.

Methods: The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients/Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database was retrospectively reviewed for all pediatric (age <18 y) liver transplant candidates listed between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2019.

The vexing triad of obesity, alcohol, and coagulopathy predicts the need for multiple operations in liver transplantation.

Introduction: One in four liver transplants (LT) require return to the operating room(R-OR) within 48 h of surgery. We hypothesize that donor, recipient, and intraoperative factors will predict R-OR.

Methods: LT recipients were enrolled in an observational study to measure coagulation with thrombelastography (TEG) were assessed with transplant recipient and donor variables for risk of R-OR.

Primary vs. salvage liver transplantation for biliary atresia: A retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: Kasai hepatoportoenterostomy is the standard of care for children with biliary atresia, but a majority of patients progress to end-stage liver disease and require a salvage liver transplant. Given the high failure rates of the hepatoportoenterostomy operation, some have advocated for primary liver transplantation as a superior treatment approach. The aim of this study was to compare outcomes of pediatric candidates with biliary atresia listed for primary vs.

Challenging the Traditional Paradigm of Supply and Demand in Pediatric Liver Transplantation Through Nondirected Living Donation: A Case Series.

A gap exists between the demand for pediatric liver transplantation and the supply of appropriate size-matched donors. We describe our center's experience with pediatric liver transplantation using anonymous nondirected living liver donors (ND-LLD). First-time pediatric liver transplant candidates listed at our center between January 2012 and June 2020 were retrospectively reviewed and categorized by donor graft type, and recipients of ND-LLD grafts were described.

Are Hepatitis C Positive Female Liver Transplant Recipients Still at Increased Risk for Graft Failure? Reexamining the Disparity in the Modern Era of Direct-acting Antiviral Agents.

Background: This study aimed to compare the outcomes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive (+) female liver transplant recipients to HCV negative (-) female and HCV+ male recipients before and after the direct-acting-antiviral (DAA) era.

Methods: The United Network for Organ Sharing liver transplant database was retrospectively reviewed from 2002 to 2017. The DAA era was defined as ≥2014.

The Surge in Deceased Liver Donors Due to the Opioid Epidemic: Is It Time to Split the Difference?

Background: This study aimed to compare trends in use of drug overdose (DO) donors in adult versus pediatric liver transplants and the utilization of split liver transplantation in this donor population.

Methods: The United Network for Organ Sharing database was reviewed for deceased donor liver transplants from March 2002 to December 2017. Recipients were categorized by donor mechanism of death.

Treatment Strategies for Pilonidal Sinus Disease in Switzerland and Austria.

: No current nationwide consensus exists on pilonidal disease (PD) treatment in Switzerland and Austria. The objective of this study was to assess and compare the spectrum of PD treatment strategies in Switzerland and Austria. : A survey including 196 certified institutions (Switzerland, = 99 and Austria, = 97) was performed.

STEP improves long-term survival for pediatric short bowel syndrome patients: A Markov decision analysis.

Introduction: Increasingly, for pediatric patients with short bowel syndrome (SBS), intestinal lengthening procedures such as serial transverse enteroplasty (STEP) are being offered with the hope of improving patients' chances for achieving enteral autonomy. However, it remains unclear to what extent STEP reduces the long-term need for intestinal transplant or improves survival.

Methods: Based on existing literature, a decision analytic Markov state transition model was created to simulate the life of 1,000 pediatric SBS patients.

Bariatric Surgery for Congestive Heart Failure Patients Improves Access to Transplantation and Long-term Survival.

Introduction: Obese patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) are often denied access to heart transplantation until they obtain significant weight loss to achieve a certain BMI threshold, often less than 35 kg/m. It is unknown whether the rapid weight loss associated with bariatric surgery leads to improved waitlist placement, and as such improved survival for morbidly obese patients with CHF.

Methods: A decision analytic Markov state transition model was created to simulate the life of morbidly obese patients with CHF who were deemed ineligible to be waitlisted for heart transplantation unless they achieved a BMI less than 35 kg/m.

Reverse epidemiology and the obesity paradox for patients with chronic kidney disease: a Markov decision model.

Background: Obesity has been associated with both increased progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) as well as with a paradoxical improvement in survival among end-stage renal disease patients undergoing hemodialysis. As such, the optimal weight management strategy for obese CKD patients remains unclear.

Objective: To estimate the outcomes of obese, CKD stage 3b patients after 3 weight loss interventions, including medical weight management, sleeve gastrectomy (SG), and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), were followed to determine which strategy optimizes long-term survival.

Uncontrolled donation after circulatory death improves access to kidney transplantation: A decision analysis.

Aim: Uncontrolled donation after cardiac death (uDCD) remains an underutilized source of kidney allografts in the United States. The objective of this study was to estimate the impact of the implementation of a uDCD program on transplantation rates and long-term survival for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the United States.

Methods: A decision-analytic Markov state transition model was created using medical decision-making software (DATA 3.

Sleeve Gastrectomy Compared with Gastric Bypass for Morbidly Obese Patients with End Stage Renal Disease: a Decision Analysis.

Introduction: The use of bariatric surgery has increased for morbidly obese patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) for whom listing on the waitlist is often restricted until a certain BMI threshold is achieved. Effective weight loss for this population improves access to life-saving renal transplantation. However, it is unclear whether sleeve gastrectomy (SG) vs Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is a more effective therapy for these patients.

Uncontrolled deceased cardiac donation: An unutilized source for organ transplantation in the United States.

The practice of uncontrolled donation after cardiac death (uDCD) has been met with tepid interest within the United States transplant community. Hesitancy stems largely from fears of eroding public trust due to complex ethical issues involving consent. Beyond ethical concerns, uDCD creates unique logistic challenges to obtain and to preserve organs within a short time frame.