Publications by authors named "T L Astor"

Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of preemptive antiviral therapy for lung transplant recipients receiving organs from hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive donors.
  • Conducted as a pilot trial, it involved 59 lung transplant patients, with a focus on the outcomes of those who received HCV positive lungs and compared them with recipients of HCV negative lungs.
  • Results indicated that 75% of HCV positive recipients initially developed viremia, but all cleared the virus within three weeks, achieving a 100% sustained virologic response after 12 months, with survival rates similar to those of historical cohorts.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the impact of the timing of discontinuing anti-fibrotic therapy on the risk of complications during lung transplant in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
  • Patients were categorized into two groups based on whether they stopped their medication less than or more than five half-lives before the transplant, with significant complications like anastomotic and sternal dehiscence occurring exclusively in the former group.
  • Overall, while specific complications were linked to shorter medication discontinuation times, other complications, hospital stays, and survival rates showed no significant differences between the two groups.
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Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease with microaspiration has been associated with graft dysfunction in lung transplant patients. Identifying patients with aspiration is clinically important because it enables implementation of appropriate interventions like antireflux therapy. Oil Red O (ORO) staining with determination of the lipid-laden macrophage index (LLMI) has been proposed as a noninvasive surrogate marker in the detection of aspiration.

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Non-forest ecosystems, dominated by shrubs, grasses and herbaceous plants, provide ecosystem services including carbon sequestration and forage for grazing, and are highly sensitive to climatic changes. Yet these ecosystems are poorly represented in remotely sensed biomass products and are undersampled by in situ monitoring. Current global change threats emphasize the need for new tools to capture biomass change in non-forest ecosystems at appropriate scales.

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The increasing prevalence of chronic lung disease worldwide, combined with the emergence of multiple pandemics arising from respiratory viruses over the past century, highlights the need for safer and efficacious means for providing artificial lung support. Mechanical ventilation is currently used for the vast majority of patients suffering from acute and chronic lung failure, but risks further injury or infection to the patient's already compromised lung function. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has emerged as a means of providing direct gas exchange with the blood, but limited access to the technology and the complexity of the blood circuit have prevented the broader expansion of its use.

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