Liver transplant recipients with daptomycin-resistant Enterococcus bacteremia were more than twice as likely to die within a year compared with those who had vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus bacteremia, a study found.
“In our institution, we noted a significant increase in Enterococcus isolates resistant to daptomycin, leaving few options for treatment,” Rachael A. Lee, MD, MSPH, associate professor of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told Healio.
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The college roommates had not seen each other in 21 years. But when Steven Robinson realized on a family trip to Detroit that he was within driving distance of Richard Koonce, he called his friend to ask if he could visit.
Koonce had introduced Robinson to his wife, Natalie, when they all attended Norfolk State University, a historically Black college in Virginia. When his old friend reached out he welcomed the couple and their three children to his home in Sandusky, Ohio, last summer.
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Younger age and use of a certain immunosuppressive agent were more than three times as likely to be associated with higher risk of recurrent autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) after liver transplantation, researchers found.
Among 736 AIH patients who received a liver transplant over a 33-year period, adjusted analyses showed the following factors were associated with a greater risk of recurrent disease:
– Age 42 or younger at transplantation (HR 3.15, 95% CI 1.22-8.16, P=0.02)
– Using mycophenolate mofetil after transplantation (HR 3.06, 95% CI 1.39-6.73, P=0.005)
– Sex mismatch between donor and recipient (HR 2.57, 95% CI 1.39-4.76, P=0.003)
– High IgG levels before transplantation (HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01-1.06, P=0.004)
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The majority of liver transplant recipients are able to produce a functional antibody response to COVID-19 infection, according to data published in Gut.
“Our findings suggest that the humoral response of [liver transplant (LT)] recipients is only slightly lower than expected compared with that of COVID-19 immunocompetent controls,” Chiara Becchetti, MD, of the department of visceral surgery and medicine at the University of Bern in Switzerland, and colleagues wrote. “Additionally, we showed that the majority of LT recipients is capable of mounting an adequate neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 and that neutralizing ability was associated with the presence of antinucleocapsid antibodies.” Learn more here.
“The liver has many functions that are necessary for life. The liver helps process carbohydrates, fats and proteins, and stores vitamins. It processes nutrients absorbed from food in the intestines and turns them into materials that the body needs for life.
For example, the liver makes the factors that the blood needs for clotting. It also secretes bile to help digest fats, and breaks down toxic substances in the blood such as drugs and alcohol. The liver is also responsible for the metabolism of most drugs.”
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“New data being presented at the 2021 American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Annual Meeting show patients with heart failure who are recipients of liver transplants are at an increased risk of adverse events, including death.
A team, led by Zahid I. Tarar, MD, University of Missouri School of Medicine, measured the effect of pre-existing heart failure on patient outcomes for individuals admitted to the hospital for liver transplants.”
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“Outcomes have improved significantly among HIV/Hepatitis C virus-coinfected liver transplant recipients in the direct-acting antiviral era, according to data presented at the Digestive Disease Week.
“The practice of liver transplant for HIV-positive patients has been increasing since 2013 when the HOPE Act was passed; however, the number is still low, less than 1% of total liver transplants,” Jennifer Wang, from the University of Chicago, said during her presentation. “There is a significant geographic variation of HIV/HCV coinfected liver transplant practice with limited number of participating centers. Liver transplant outcomes for coinfected patients have improved significantly in the [direct-acting antiviral (DAA)] era and are comparable to patients without either infection.”
Wang and colleagues analyzed data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) on adult patients in the United States who underwent liver transplantation between 2008 and 2019. They identified 70,125 liver transplant patients, 416 of whom were HIV-infected.”
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“More than ever, living donors are coming forward and generously volunteering to give the gift of life to hundreds of PKD patients across America. These living donors make up a vital portion of the kidney transplants performed in the U.S. each year. About one-third of the kidney transplants in 2020 were living donations.
Right now, there’s no federal legislation protecting living organ donors from losing their jobs just for taking recovery leave for transplant surgery. Living donors also experience higher premiums and even denial of coverage for most forms of insurance. In fact, 25% of living donors are denied or charged more for life insurance.”
Learn more, here.