Mikhail Nozdrin

Background and Aims: Recipient demographics affect outcomes after kidney transplantation. The aim of this study was to assess, for kidneys retrieved from living donors, the effect of recipient sex, ethnicity, and body mass index (BMI) on delayed graft function (DGF) and one-year graft function, incidence of acute rejection (AR), and recipient and graft survivals. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed. EMBASE and MEDLINE databases were searched using algorithms through Ovid. Web of Science collection, BIOSIS, CABI, Korean Journal database, Russian Science Citation Index, and SciELO were searched through Web of Science. Cochrane database was also searched. Risk of bias was assessed using the NHBLI tools. Data analysis was performed using Revman 5.4. Mean difference (MD) and risk ratio (RR) were used in analysis. Results: A total of 5129 studies were identified; 24 studies met the inclusion criteria and were analysed. Female recipients were found to have a significantly lower serum creatinine 1-year-post renal transplantation (MD: −0.24 mg/dL 95%CI: −0.18 to −0.29 p < 0.01) compared to male recipients. No significant difference in survival between male and female recipients nor between Caucasians and Africans was observed (p = 0.08). However, Caucasian recipients had a higher 1-year graft survival compared to African recipients (95% CI 0.52−0.98) with also a lower incidence of DGF (RR = 0.63 p < 0.01) and AR (RR = 0.55 p < 0.01). Recipient obesity (BMI > 30) was found to have no effect on 1-year recipient (p = 0.28) and graft survival (p = 0.93) compared to non-obese recipients although non-obese recipients had a lower rate of DGF (RR = 0.65 p < 0.01) and AR (RR = 0.81 p < 0.01) compared to obese recipients. Conclusions: Gender mismatch between male recipients and female donors has negative impact on graft survival. African ethnicity and obesity do not to influence recipient and graft survival but negatively affect DGF and AR rates.

We describe the case of a 35-year-old HIV-positive male of African origin diagnosed with neurotoxoplasmosis and a Nannizziopsis spp. cavitating pulmonary lesion unmasking immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). The patient presented with headache, left hemiparesis and confusion. MRI of the brain showed two space-occupying lesions in the right basal ganglia and left parietal lobe typical for neurotoxoplasmosis. The patient tested positive for HIV and had advanced CD4 lymphopenia. After commencement of antiretroviral treatment, a CT scan of the chest showed a cavitating lesion in the right upper lobe. The diagnosis of Nannizziopsis spp. fungal infection was confirmed by DNA sequencing on a bronchial wash sample. The patient achieved complete recovery with antiretroviral therapy, standard neurotoxoplasmosis treatment and antifungal treatment with voriconazole for 12 weeks.

Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet

Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet #Preprint #PeerReviewMe: Warning: This is a unreviewed preprint. Readers are warned that the document has not been peer-reviewed by expert/patient reviewers or an academic editor, may contain misleading claims, and is likely to undergo changes before final publication, if accepted, or may have been rejected/withdrawn. Readers with interest and expertise are encouraged to sign up as peer-reviewer, if the paper is within an open peer-review period. Please cite this preprint only for review purposes or for grant applications and CVs (if you are the author). A reply to Lin and colleague’s article on the effect of mass and social media on the psycho behavioral responses of medical students. As medical students, we questioned the quality of the information consumed by our Chinese counterparts to further understand the results. We suggest a further analysis of the data, and suggest possible future directions to strengthen the correlations found in the study.

The recent advances in machine perfusion (MP) technology involve settings ranging between hypothermic, subnormothermic, and normothermic temperatures. Tissue level adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is a long-established marker of viability and functionality and is universal for all organs. In the midst of a growing number of complex clinical parameters for the quality assessment of graft prior to transplantation, a revisit of ATP may shed light on the underlying reconditioning mechanisms of different perfusion temperatures in the form of restoration of metabolic and energy status. This article aims to review and critically analyse animal and preclinical human studies (discarded grafts) during MP of three abdominal organs (liver, kidney, and pancreas) in which ATP was a primary endpoint. A selective review of recent novel reconditioning approaches relevant to mitigation of graft ischaemia-reperfusion injury via MP and for different perfusion temperatures was also conducted. With a current reiterated interest for oxygenation during MP, a re-introduction of tissue ATP levels may be valuable for graft viability assessment prior to transplantation. Further studies may help delineate the benefits of selective perfusion temperatures on organs viability.

Introduction: To match the current organ demand with organ availability from the donor pool, there has been a shift towards acceptance of extended criteria donors (ECD), often associated with longer ischemic times. Novel dynamic preservation techniques as hypothermic or normothermic machine perfusion (MP) are increasingly adopted, particularly for organs from ECDs. In this study, we compared the viability and incidence of reperfusion injury in kidneys and livers preserved with MP versus Static Cold Storage (SCS). Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis with a search performed between February and March 2019. MEDLINE, EMBASE and Transplant Library were searched via OvidSP. The Cochrane Library and The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) were also searched. English language filter was applied. Results: the systematic search generated 10,585 studies, finally leading to a total of 30 papers for meta-analysis of kidneys and livers. Hypothermic MP (HMP) statistically significantly lowered the incidence of primary nonfunction (PMN, p = 0.003) and delayed graft function (DGF, p < 0.00001) in kidneys compared to SCS, but not its duration. No difference was also noted for serum creatinine or eGFR post-transplantation, but overall kidneys preserved with HMP had a significantly longer one-year graft survival (OR: 1.61 95% CI: 1.02 to 2.53, p = 0.04). Differently from kidneys where the graft survival was affected, there was no significant difference in primary non function (PNF) for livers stored using SCS for those preserved by HMP and NMP. Machine perfusion demonstrated superior outcomes in early allograft dysfunction and post transplantation AST levels compared to SCS, but however, only HMP was able to significantly decrease serum bilirubin and biliary stricture incidence compared to SCS. Conclusions: MP improves DGF and one-year graft survival in kidney transplantation; it appears to mitigate early allograft dysfunction in livers, but more studies are needed to prove its potential superiority in relation to PNF in livers.