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Telehealth: Terms and Conditions Apply

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— Added convenience comes at a cost

Let’s say with all that’s been going on, you’ve been feeling increasingly depressed and anxious, so you decide to make an appointment with a psychiatrist who you heard was great. The next courageous step is to actually show up for the appointment, and you arrive a few minutes early to fill out the usual paperwork in the waiting room. Finally, you’re shown to her office, and you nervously take a seat on the couch. She smiles warmly and says, “OK, I’m going to begin audio and video recording the appointment now.”
Read more in MedPage Today here.

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A glimpse into my journey: Lung transplantation for COVID-19

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Prior to November of 2020, if approached with the term ECMO or the words ventilator, tracheostomy, or lung transplant, I would have had a grossly rudimentary knowledge of most. Fast forward to January 2021, this would dramatically change as I would have an intimate understanding of what these were. In retrospect, this understanding comes with a high degree of respect for these tools and the people who use them to keep people alive. And that is exactly what they did for me.

In November of 2020, I contracted SARS-CoV-2, which resulted in my developing Covid-19. The disease ran unapologetically through my body. I had all the classic systems: sore throat, fever, body aches as I have never experienced and horrible fatigue. Realizing I was dealing with something worse than a common cold, I went to my primary care physician for a Covid test. I was instructed to isolate and rest as I waited for the results. After a day of having all these symptoms, I knew this test was going to be positive; and it was.
Read the full editorial in Wiley Online Library.

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Regular exercise yields greater CV benefit in adults with anxiety, depression

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WASHINGTON — For adults with anxiety or depression, regular exercise had nearly double the CV benefit compared with those without these diagnoses, researchers reported at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Session.

“Our findings are not meant to suggest that exercise is only good or has CV benefit in those with [anxiety and/or depression], but it does suggest that people with stress-related conditions tend to derive a greater benefit,” Hadil Zureigat, MD, postdoctoral clinical research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, said during an ACC press conference. “It also emphasizes stress-related neural pathways in explaining part of the CV benefit of exercise.” Read the full story in Healio.

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Use of Live-Donor Liver Transplants in Patients With Metastatic Colon Cancer Leads to ‘Excellent Survival’

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Patients with colorectal cancer that has spread to the liver tend to have poor outcomes and are typically not candidates to receive liver transplants from deceased donors. However, results from a small study on transplanting livers from live-donors could “change this paradigm,” an expert said.

Patients with unresectable colon cancer that has spread to the liver tend to have poor outcomes and diminished quality of life.

Transplants from deceased donors are typically reserved for patients who have liver disease or have impaired liver function, and unfortunately most patients with colon cancer that has metastasized to their liver have normal liver functions and are therefore not a priority on transplant lists. Read the full article in Cure.

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NKF keynote speaker discusses racial disparities, how to eliminate these in health care

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BOSTON — The keynote speaker at the National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings discussed racial disparities in the United States and how physicians can change their practices and political behavior to achieve health equity.

“COVID-19 had a huge impact on the United States population in general, but Blacks, Hispanics, American Indians and Pacific Islanders have had an age-adjusted death rate that is at least twice as high as that of whites,” David R. Williams, PhD, MPH, professor at Harvard University, said during his presentation. Read the full story in Healio here.

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Donors and recipients in six-way kidney transplant meet for first time

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Single donor triggers multiple transplants via ‘paired exchange’ approach

(SACRAMENTO)

The average time a person spends on the waiting list for a kidney transplant is two-and-a-half to three years. But thanks to one selfless individual willing to give life to another, three people in Sacramento did not have to endure that wait. 

Donors and recipients who participated in a six-way ‘chain’ kidney transplant at UC Davis Medical Center had the opportunity to meet one another for the first time at a celebration held during National Donate Life Month. Read the story from UC Davis Health.

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American Kidney Fund: Diversity and inclusion for Veterans

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Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is estimated to affect one in six Veterans.

There are currently approximately 500,000 Veterans diagnosed with CKD. That number is likely to increase by 30,000 people next year.

Michael Spigler is vice president of Patient Services and Kidney Disease Education at the American Kidney Fund (AKF). He notes that the partnership with VA brings awareness and resources to Veterans.

“Kidney disease is the fastest growing, noncommunicable disease (a disease that is not contagious) in the U.S., yet 90% of Americans, including Veterans, who have kidney disease are unaware they have early stages.” Read the full story in Vantage Point.

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CareDx Reports Over 200,000 Heart Transplant Patient Results Served

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CareDx Testing Services Have Been Used in Over 30,000 Heart Transplant Patients and Over 90 Percent of Centers in the United States

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., April 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CareDx, Inc. (Nasdaq: CDNA) – The Transplant Company™ focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of clinically differentiated, high-value healthcare solutions for transplant patients and caregivers – today announced that it has delivered over 200,000 AlloMap® or AlloSure® results for over 30,000 heart transplant recipients.1

“We are proud to have a long-standing and trusted relationship with the heart transplant community. Since 2005, we have served half of all heart transplant patients in the U.S. with AlloMap or AlloSure, and AlloMap has the distinction of being the only FDA cleared gene-expression profiling test (GEP) for use in heart transplants, the only GEP incorporated in International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation guidelines, and the only one covered by CMS for multimodality assessment using AlloSure donor-derived cell-free DNA,” said Reg Seeto, CEO and President of CareDx. “Importantly, we have earned this trust by conducting multi-center prospective studies that have been published in leading journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine.”
Read the complete press release on CareDx.com here.

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Pulmonary hypertension common in kidney transplant recipients

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Patients with pulmonary hypertension who underwent kidney transplantation had similar posttransplant outcomes at 5 years compared with those without pretransplant pulmonary hypertension, researchers reported in Pulmonary Circulation.

“Pulmonary hypertension more than doubles the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular-specific mortality in those on dialysis, and it increases the risk of adverse perioperative outcomes including death in noncardiac surgeries irrespective of kidney function. 
Read the full article in Healio.

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Study Supports Expanded Use of HCV-Infected Liver Donation

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– Post-transplant survival similar between recipients with active or prior HCV infection

With the advent of direct-acting antiviral therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the post-liver transplant setting, we are seeing more and more HCV-infected donor livers offered to patients awaiting liver transplant. Post-liver transplant outcomes for patients with HCV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who receive HCV-infected donor livers are not well established.

A recent study, published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, utilized the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) registry to classify patients with HCV-related HCC (with either prior infection or active viremia) who received HCV-infected donor livers. Overall, the post-liver transplant survival outcomes were similar between recipients with active HCV infection and those with prior infection. Clinically, this study supports consideration of expanded use of HCV-infected liver donation to improve access to liver transplantation. Read more on MedPage Today.

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