Faculty Bibliography

OBJECTIVE:Liver transplant (LT) evaluation is a complex process for patients involving multi-step and parallel medical, surgical, and psychosocial assessments of a patient's appropriateness for transplant. Patients may experience difficulties in navigating the evaluation process, potentially leading to disengagement and resulting in further health decline or death prior to completing evaluation. We aimed to identify and characterize patients' perceptions of undergoing LT evaluation. METHODS:We performed fourteen 30-45 min, semi-structured interviews between 3/2021-5/2021 with patients at a large LT center. Using the constant comparison method, we individually noted themes within and across interviews and codes. RESULTS:Our analysis generated 5 thematic dimensions related to patient engagement (i.e., patient involvement/activation): (1) psychological impact of evaluation on patients' lives; (2) information received during evaluation; (3) prior medical experience of the patient; 4) communication between patients and transplant providers; and (5) support system of the patients. Among these dimensions, we identified 8 themes. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:LT patient engagement is a multi-dimensional component of LT evaluation that incorporates the psychological impact, information received, prior medical experience, communication, and support systems of patients. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS:This work can inform targeted interventions for increasing patient engagement during the LT evaluation process.

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:ChatGPT has shown the ability to answer clinical questions in general medicine but may be constrained by the specialized nature of kidney transplantation. Thus, it is important to explore how ChatGPT can be used in kidney transplantation and how its knowledge compares to human respondents. METHODS:We prompted ChatGPT versions 3.5, 4, and 4 Visual (4 V) with 12 multiple-choice questions related to six kidney transplant cases from 2013 to 2015 American Society of Nephrology (ASN) fellowship program quizzes. We compared the performance of ChatGPT with US nephrology fellowship program directors, nephrology fellows, and the audience of the ASN's annual Kidney Week meeting. RESULTS:Overall, ChatGPT 4 V correctly answered 10 out of 12 questions, showing a performance level comparable to nephrology fellows (group majority correctly answered 9 of 12 questions) and training program directors (11 of 12). This surpassed ChatGPT 4 (7 of 12 correct) and 3.5 (5 of 12). All three ChatGPT versions failed to correctly answer questions where the consensus among human respondents was low. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Each iterative version of ChatGPT performed better than the prior version, with version 4 V achieving performance on par with nephrology fellows and training program directors. While it shows promise in understanding and answering kidney transplantation questions, ChatGPT should be seen as a complementary tool to human expertise rather than a replacement.

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:Dietary restrictions for patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) are burdensome. Kidney transplantation (KT) candidates who lack neighborhood resources and are burdened by dietary restrictions may have decreased access to KT. METHODS:In our two-center prospective cohort study (2014-2023), 2471 ESKD patients who were evaluated for KT (candidates) reported their perceived burden of dietary restrictions (not at all, somewhat/moderately, or extremely bothered). Neighborhood-level socioeconomic factors were derived from residential ZIP codes. We quantified the association of perceived burden of the dietary restrictions with a chance of listing using Cox models and risk of waitlist mortality using competing risks models. Then we tested whether these associations differed by neighborhood-level socioeconomic factors. RESULTS: = 0.02). The association between dietary burden and waitlist mortality did not differ by neighborhood-level healthy food access. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:The perceived burden of dietary restrictions is associated with a lower chance of listing for KT, and higher waitlist mortality only among candidates residing in neighborhoods with high food insecurity. Transplant centers should identify vulnerable patients and support them with nutrition education and access to food assistance programs.

Durability of variant neutralization in solid organ transplant recipients following Omicron-containing boosters is unknown. We report wane in XBB.1.5 neutralization by 3 months following a first bivalent booster, improved by a second booster; hybrid immunity improved peak, and duration of neutralization. Boosting at 3 to 6 months appears necessary to maintain neutralization.

UNLABELLED:Solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) suffer more frequent and more severe infections due to their compromised immune responses resulting from immunosuppressive treatments designed to prevent organ rejection. Pharmacological immunosuppression can adversely affect immune responses to vaccination. A cohort of kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) received their third dose of ancestral, monovalent COVID-19 vaccine in the context of a clinical trial and antibody responses to the vaccine strain, as well as to Omicron variants BA.1 and BA.5 were investigated and compared with healthy controls. Total IgG and live virus neutralizing antibody titers were reduced in KTRs compared to controls for all variants. KTRs displayed altered IgG subclass switching, with significantly lower IgG3 antibodies. Responses in KTRs were also very heterogeneous, with some individuals showing strong responses but a significant number showing no Omicron-specific neutralizing antibodies. Taken together, immune responses after COVID-19 vaccination in KTRs were not only lower than healthy controls but highly variable, indicating that simply increasing the number of vaccine doses alone may not be sufficient to provide greater protection in this population. IMPORTANCE/UNASSIGNED:This study addresses the challenges faced by kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) in mounting effective immune responses against COVID-19. By evaluating the antibody responses to a third dose of monovalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and its effectiveness against Omicron subvariants (BA.1 and BA.5), this study reveals significant reductions in both binding and neutralizing antibodies in KTRs compared to healthy controls. The research highlights altered IgG subclass switching and heterogeneous responses within the KTR population. Reduced recognition of variants, coupled with differences in IgG subclasses, decreases both the quality and quantity of protective antibodies after vaccination in KTRs. These findings underscore the need for tailored vaccination strategies for immunosuppressed populations such as KTRs. Alternative formulations and doses of COVID-19 vaccines should be considered for people with severely compromised immune systems, as more frequent vaccinations may not significantly improve the response, especially regarding neutralizing antibodies.

OBJECTIVE:Incidence and manifestations of postacute sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019 (PASC) are poorly defined among immunosuppressed populations. We reported, phenotyped, and assessed risk factors for PASC in adults with systemic autoimmune diseases. METHODS:Persons aged ≥ 18 years with systemic autoimmune diseases were recruited into a national, prospective observational cohort of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and infection between December 2020 and April 2021. Serial surveys assessed vaccination status, SARS-CoV-2 infection incidence, and disease flares. Participants reporting SARS-CoV-2 infection received a questionnaire assessing symptom duration, severity, and quality of life (QOL) effect; PASC was defined as ≥ 1 symptom persisting for > 12 weeks. PASC syndromes were mapped by overlapping symptom domains. Characteristics were compared between participants who did vs did not report PASC. RESULTS:= 0.004). CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:In a large, real-world cohort, 29.8% of persons with systemic autoimmune disease reported PASC, often affecting QOL. Preceding vaccination may reduce PASC, whereas multiple infections may increase risk, supporting ongoing booster vaccine campaigns and efforts to limit breakthrough infections.

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:Frailty and cognitive function are often measured during kidney transplant evaluation. However, patient perspectives on the ethical considerations of this practice are unclear. RESEARCH QUESTION/OBJECTIVE:What are patient perspectives on the use of aging metrics in kidney transplant decision-making? DESIGN/METHODS:One hundred participants who were evaluated for kidney transplantation and were enrolled in an ongoing prospective cohort study (response rate = 61.3%) were surveyed. Participants were informed of the definitions of frailty and cognitive impairment and then asked survey questions regarding the use of these measures of aging to determine kidney transplant candidacy. RESULTS:Participants (75.6%) thought it was unfair to prevent older adults from receiving a kidney transplant based on age, but there was less agreement on whether it was fair to deny frail (46.5%) and cognitively impaired (45.9%) patients from accessing kidney transplantation. Compared to older participants, younger participants had 5.36-times (95%CI:1.94-14.81) the odds of choosing a hypothetical younger, frail patient to list for kidney transplantation than an older, non-frail patient; they also had 3.56-times (95%CI:1.33-9.56) the odds of choosing the hypothetical frail patient with social support rather than a non-frail patient without social support. Participants disagreed on the use of patient age as a listing criterion; 19.5% ranked it as the fairest and 28.7% as the least fair. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:The patient views highlighted in this study are an important step toward developing ethical guidelines to ensure fair use of frailty, cognitive function, and chronological age for kidney transplant decision-making.

BACKGROUND:The number of living kidney donors in the United States has declined since 2005, with variations based on the donor-recipient relationship. The reasons for this decline are unclear, and strategies to mitigate declined donations remain elusive. We examined the change in donor number monthly (within-year) versus annually (between-years) to inform potentially modifiable factors for future interventions. METHODS:In this registry-based cohort analysis of 141 759 living kidney donors between 1995 and 2019, we used linear mixed-effects models for donor number per month and year to analyze between-year and within-year variation in donation. We used Poisson regression to quantify the change in the number of donors per season before and after 2005, stratified by donor-recipient relationship and zip-code household income tertile. RESULTS:We observed a consistent summer surge in donations during June, July, and August. This surge was statistically significant for related donors (incidence rate ratio [IRR] range: 1.12-1.33) and unrelated donors (IRR range: 1.06-1.16) across donor income tertiles. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Our findings indicate lower rates of living kidney donation in non-summer months across income tertiles. Interventions are needed to address barriers to donation in non-summer seasons and facilitate donations throughout the year. Since the Organ Donor Leave Law provides a solid foundation for supporting year-round donation, extending the law's provisions beyond federal employees may mitigate identified seasonal barriers.