Pediatric transplantation
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Pediatric transplantation · Jun 2018
Perioperative anticoagulation practices for pediatric liver transplantation.
Despite continued advancements in perioperative care for pediatric liver transplant (LT), graft-threatening vascular occlusion events including hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT) and portal vein thrombosis (PVT) remain a source of significant morbidity and mortality. Perioperative anticoagulation is commonly used for the prevention of HAT and PVT, but evidence-based guidelines are lacking. The goals of this survey were to determine the frequency of use of an anticoagulation protocol and to describe variation in anticoagulation practices among pediatric LT centers. ⋯ Subgroup analysis of high volume pediatric LT centers revealed similar variability in anticoagulation patterns. All participating SPLIT centers reported the use of post-transplant anticoagulation and nearly all use a protocol. However, there is marked variability in the type and dose of anticoagulation as well as the timing of initiation and duration of therapy across centers.
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Pediatric transplantation · May 2018
Intraoperative blood transfusion in pediatric patients undergoing renal transplant-Effect of renal graft size.
In pediatric RT, donor allograft size often exceeds the expected recipient norms, especially in younger recipients. An "oversize" graft might not only present a technical- and space-related challenge, but may possibly lead to increased demands in perioperative volume requirements due to the disparity between donor and recipient in renal blood flow. We evaluated transfusion practices at a single tertiary institution with special consideration of kidney graft size, hypothesizing that oversize graft kidneys might lead to a quantifiable increased need of blood transfusion in smaller recipients. ⋯ Median postoperative Hb was similar among groups (10.4 g/dL vs 10.6 g/dL for SMR vs OvR, respectively). Transplantation of an oversized kidney in pediatric RT recipients is associated with a quantifiable higher need for blood transfusion. This may be caused by a higher intraoperative EBL and/or greater blood volume sequestered by the larger renal allograft and requires further evaluation.
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Pediatric transplantation · Mar 2018
High human herpesvirus 6 viral load in pediatric allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients is associated with detection in end organs and high mortality.
Human Herpes Virus 6 (HHV-6) reactivation occurs in approximately half of patients following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). While encephalitis and delayed engraftment are well-documented complications of HHV-6 following HSCT, the extent to which HHV-6 viremia causes disease in children is controversial. We performed a retrospective review of HHV-6 reactivation and possible manifestations in pediatric allogeneic HSCT patients at a single institution. ⋯ We identified two subgroups within the viremic patients-a high-risk viremic and tissue-positive group that reactivated HHV-6 and had suspected end-organ disease and a low-risk viremic but asymptomatic group that reactivated HHV-6 but did not exhibit symptoms or signs of end-organ disease. Peak viral load was found to be strongly associated with mortality. Prospective studies in larger numbers of patients are needed to further investigate the role of HHV-6 in causing symptomatic end-organ disease as well as the association of viral load with mortality.
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Pediatric transplantation · Sep 2017
Review Case ReportsNeutropenic enterocolitis (typhlitis) in a pediatric renal transplant patient. A case report and review of the literature.
NE (typhlitis) is a potentially life-threatening disease process characterized by bowel wall edema, ulceration, and hemorrhage in an immunosuppressed patient. We report a 15-year-old boy status post deceased donor renal transplantation who presented with fever, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. ⋯ He was treated with piperacillin-tazobactam and gentamicin and recovered. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a case of NE in a pediatric kidney transplant recipient.
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Pediatric transplantation · Jun 2017
Emergency department utilization in pediatric heart transplant recipients.
We used the NEDS database (2010) to evaluate ED utilization in PED HT recipients compared to other patient populations with focus on characteristics of ED visits, risk factors for admission, and charges. We analyzed 433 ED visits by PED HT recipients (median age 8 [range: 0-18] years). ⋯ When compared to visits by other SOT recipients, results varied with similar rates of hospital admission for HT, LUNGT, and KT visits and similar LOS for HT and KT visits but differing total hospital charges. Although PED HT recipients account for a small percentage of overall ED visits, they are more likely to be hospitalized and require greater resource utilization compared to the general PED population, but not when compared to other SOT recipients.