Baylor University Medical Center is one of the major enrollment centers for two national clinical trials that could impact the field of lung transplantation. Both studies are looking at ways to treat early and established chronic rejection after lung transplant
The impact of frailty on outcomes for organ transplant recipients is gaining widespread attention in transplant programs around the world. In numerous studies, frailty has been associated with increased length of stay, increased hospitalizations, increased costs, and increased mortality.
As the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has taken hold in the United States, transplant programs have had to prepare to make critical decisions during a time of severely constrained resources. A transition must be made from the traditional “justice versus utility” approach in organ allocation to a more nuanced allocation scheme based on ethical values that drive decisions in times of absolute scarcity. The goal of this new mind-set is to help guide programs in deciding which patients to transplant, which donors to accept, how to minimize risk and how to ensure the best utilization of transplant team members.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has shattered the processes meticulously developed over years by which physicians delivered quality care for patients with cirrhosis. COVID-19 has exposed deep flaws in the structural and process measures developed to follow patients, evaluate disease status and response to therapy, and screen for complications, each of which depends upon frequent physical patient-physician interaction.
The obesity epidemic in the United States continues to grow. Estimates are that currently 70 percent of the U.S. population is either overweight or obese. In 2013, the American Medical Association recognized obesity as a disease defined as chronic, relapsing, multifactorial and neurobehavioral where an increase in body fat promotes tissue dysfunction and abnormal physical stress to the body because of fat mass.
