Faculty Bibliography

In the seven years since the HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act made HIV-positive organ donation to HIV-positive recipients legally permissible in the United States, there have been fewer HIV-positive organ donations than expected. Organ procurement organizations (OPOs) play a key role in the transplant system and barriers at OPOs may be partly responsible for the relatively low number of HIV-positive donors. To understand potential OPO barriers, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 OPO staff members. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a conventional content analytic approach with two coders. OPO staff had high levels of knowledge about HOPE. Many had evaluated referrals of HIV-positive donors and approached families for authorization. Barriers to HIV-positive organ recovery identified included obtaining authorization for donation, potentially disclosing HIV status to next-of-kin, and fear of HIV infection among those engaged in organ recovery. Strategies to overcome these barriers include providing continuing education about the specific tasks required to procure organs from HIV-positive donors, implementing targeted interventions to reduce fear of infection, and developing partnerships with HIV advocacy and care organizations. Given the central role OPOs play, HIV-positive donations are unlikely to occur in significant numbers unless these barriers can be overcome.

Purpose of Review/UNASSIGNED:To summarize the research on post-operative delirium among patients undergoing solid organ transplantation in efforts to improve recognition, evaluation, and management, as well as highlight areas for future research. Recent Findings/UNASSIGNED:Delirium is a common complication in patients with organ failure before and after undergoing solid organ transplant (range: 4.7-47%). However, it is frequently unrecognized and underdiagnosed-even among those closely monitored after major surgery-given that its manifestation is often variable and inconsistent. Delirium has multifactorial etiologies comprising of a complex mix of predisposing recipient, donor, and transplant factors, as well as intraoperative and perioperative factors. Evidence suggests that delirium risk increases with presence of a greater number of such risk factors, and can lead to adverse outcomes such as increased hospital length of stay, time in the ICU, time on mechanical ventilators, graft dysfunction, graft loss, and mortality. Though no trials have been conducted among transplant populations specifically, delirium has been shown to be preventable among hospitalized older adults generally. Multicomponent, primary prevention strategies designed to target multiple risk factors of delirium, such as cognitive impairment, sleep deprivation, immobility, visual impairment, hearing impairment, and dehydration, have been identified as most effective. Whether these approaches translate to improvements in quality of life and long-term health outcomes among patients with organ failure before and after transplantation is yet to be determined. Summary/UNASSIGNED:Delirium is an important, common, yet potentially preventable complication among patients with organ failure. Future studies are needed to test the efficacy of multicomponent, primary prevention strategies on long-term health outcomes among these vulnerable populations.

BACKGROUND:Prescription opioid and benzodiazepine use have been associated with morbidity and mortality among some groups of solid organ transplant recipients, but implications for outcomes among lung transplant patients are not well described. METHODS:). RESULTS:). These effects were independent, and interactions were not detected. CONCLUSIONS:Benzodiazepine prescription fills before and after lung transplant, and opioid fills after transplant, are independently associated with posttransplant mortality. Review of benzodiazepine and opioid use history is relevant to risk-stratifying patients before and after lung transplant.

Frailty is a multidimensional condition and is the result of the body's age-associated decline in physical, cognitive, physiological, and immune reserves. The aim of this systematic review is to assess the quality of evidence of the included studies, determine the prevalence of frailty among kidney transplant candidates, and evaluate the relationship between frailty and associated patient characteristics and outcomes after kidney transplantation.