Mortality risk factors in patients on waiting list for lung transplantation between 2005 and 2018: A single institutional experience.

Background: Lung transplantation is a therapeutic option for patients with end-stage lung disease. However, the increase in organ demand has surpassed the number of donors, with many patients unable to outlive the long waiting period. This study aimed to assess mortality and its risk factors in patients on the waiting list for lung transplantation in a single medical centre.

Methods: All evaluated clinical and laboratory data of the patients with end-stage lung disease assessed for lung transplantation between February 2005 and November 2018 in National Taiwan University Hospital were recorded in the waiting list database. The patients in this study were divided into two groups: survival and death groups.

Results: Between February 2005 and November 2018, 169 patients were enrolled in the waiting list. Thirty-one patients were alive and waiting for the chance of lung transplantation, 56 underwent lung transplantation, and 82 died while waiting. The mean age of all patients was 43.7 years, and 91 were women. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 20.3. The most common blood type was type O. All patients were in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III or IV. After analysis of the two groups, lower BMI presented as a mortality factor.

Conclusion: This is the first Taiwanese study to describe the mortality factors in patients waiting for lung transplantation. The main factors influencing the survival of these patients were lower BMI, NYHA class IV, and diseases which cause end-stage lung diseases (infection and pulmonary fibrosis).