As the world continues to grapple with effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals around the globe are still dealing with symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection for months, even years, after their initial infection.
Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19, more commonly referred to as long COVID, are defined by the CDC as a wide range of new, returning or ongoing health issues that people experience after being infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Read more from Healio.
Since the first kidney transplant more than 60 years ago,1 doctors have developed a deeper understanding of how to protect donated organs. With newer medications and improved management, it’s less likely transplanted kidneys will undergo rejection by the immune system. Read the full story on CareDx.com.
Patients seen at transplant centers had almost 80% higher odds to receive “bridge-to-transplant” designation
January 13, 2023 — A change to Medicare policy surrounding heart transplant may lead to increased inequities in access to transplant for patients with heart failure, a Michigan Medicine study finds.
When a patient has severe heart failure, both a heart transplant and left ventricular assist device, which is implanted to assist the heart in improving blood circulation throughout the body, can be lifesaving. While LVADs continue to improve, heart transplant remains the gold standard therapy for end-stage heart failure. Read more in Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology (DAIC).
In a prospective study of more than 90,000 participants, short sleep duration and snoring were associated with elevated risk for incident HF.
The researchers conducted a prospective study of 93,613 Chinese adults from the Kailuan cohort who were free from preexisting CVD to investigate whether self-reported short sleep duration and snoring, the latter of which served as a surrogate for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), were associated with incident HF during a median follow-up of 8.8 years. Read the full story in Healio.
For patients undergoing liver transplant (LT), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) viral load (VL) monitoring may reduce the incidence of posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD), according to a study published online Jan. 17 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Read the full story in Medical XPress.
In November of 2022 MolDX (a program charged with developing CMS coverage policies for molecular diagnostic tests) and Noridian (the Medicare Administrative Contractor for CareDx and other labs located in California) held advisory meetings to review the clinical evidence for post-transplant diagnostics products. This includes AlloSure and AlloMap.
These meetings may inform coverage for molecular diagnostic testing for transplant patients and could impact access to these tests.
CareDx recognizes that the patient voice is key when making these decisions as they add personal stories that make the products’ impact more concrete and real.
This is where you come in! We need your help to share your AlloSure or AlloMap story, and support for continued access to post-transplant care options through the below form. While doing so in your own words is best, we created a template which we hope would be helpful and allows you to send your letter of support directly to the agencies responsible for the review.
Send your letter of support here.
Thank you for your advocacy for the transplant community.
The Board of Directors of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) has approved a mandatory waiting time adjustment for Black kidney transplant candidates disadvantaged by race-based kidney function estimates. The policy revision, which went into effect on January 5, 2023, is a major step toward kidney transplantation equity. Read more in Renal & Urology News.
Testing for coronary heart disease within 12 months before kidney transplantation did not correlate with a change in death or myocardial infarction within 30 days after the transplant, according to data published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Therefore, researchers suggest that testing for coronary heart disease (CHD) may not reduce the risk of adverse outcomes after a transplant. Read more in Healio.
A Kaiser Permanente Southern California quality improvement program reduced but did not entirely eliminate racial disparities in BP control between Black and white patients, researchers reported.
The largest reductions in BP control disparity were observed between Black and white women aged 50 to 64 years and Black and white men aged 18 to 49 years, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. Read more in Healio.
The number of organs transplanted in 2022 set a new annual record at 42,887 transplants in the U.S., including more than 25,000 kidney transplants for the first time, according to a press release from the United Network of Organ Sharing.
There was an overall 3.7% increase in transplants since 2021 and a 3.4% increase in kidney transplants. Specifically, 25,498 kidney transplants were performed. Records were also set for liver, heart and lung transplants. Read more in Healio.