Editor’s Choice Articles

Although the donation rate for deceased and living kidneys has been increasing, the donor organ availability meets only the 30% of kidney needs in Italy. Consequently, hemodialysis patients stay for a long time, an average of 3.2 years, on a waiting list for a kidney transplant with consequent relevant psychological distress or even full-fledged psychiatric disorders, as diagnosed with traditional psychiatric nosological systems. Recent studies report, however, a higher prevalence of other psychosocial syndromes, as diagnosed by using the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR) in medically ill and kidney transplant patients. Nevertheless, no data regarding DCPR prevalence are available in patients waitlisted for a renal transplant (WKTs). Thus, the primary aim of this study was to identify sub-threshold or undetected syndromes by using the DCPR and, secondly, to analyze its relationship with physical and psychological symptoms and daily-life problems in WKTs. A total of 30 consecutive WKTs were assessed using the DCPR Interview and the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview 6.0. The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) and the Canadian Problem Checklist were used to assess physical and psychological distress symptoms and daily-life problems. A total of 60% of patients met the criteria for at least one DCPR diagnosis; of them, 20% received one DCPR diagnosis (DCPR = 1), and 40% more than one (DCPR > 1), especially the irritability cluster (46.7%), Abnormal Illness Behavior (AIB) cluster (23.3%) and somatization cluster (23.3%). Fifteen patients met the criteria for an ICD diagnosis. Among patients without an ICD-10 diagnosis, 77.8% had at least one DCPR syndrome (p < 0.05). Higher scores on ESAS symptoms (i.e., tiredness, nausea, depression, anxiety, feeling of a lack of well-being and distress), ESAS-Physical, ESAS-Psychological, and ESAS-Total were found among DCPR cases than DCPR non-cases. In conclusion, a high prevalence of DCPR diagnoses was found in WKTs, including those who resulted to be ICD-10 non-cases. The joint use of DCPR and other screening tools (e.g., ESAS) should be evaluated in future research as part of a correct psychosocial assessment of WKTs. Full article

Indications for liver transplantation (LT) have constantly been evolving during the last few decades due to a better understanding of liver diseases and innovative therapies. Likewise, also the underlying causes of liver disease have changed. In the setting of transplant oncology, recent developments have pushed the boundaries of oncological indications for LT outside hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), especially for secondary liver tumors, such as neuroendocrine and colorectal cancer. In the next years, as more evidence emerges, LT could become the standard treatment for well-selected metastatic liver tumors. In this manuscript, we review and summarize the available evidence for LT in liver tumors beyond HCC with a focus on metastatic liver malignancies, highlighting the importance of these new concepts for future implications. Full article

There is an urgent need to develop drugs and vaccines to counteract the effects of the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and adequately treat the corona virus disease (COVID-19). As these drugs are still under investigation, research also focuses on existing medication with proven effectiveness in other coronaviral diseases. The advantages of existing therapeutic drugs that are currently approved (for other indications) are the known safety profile, general availability and relatively lower costs involved in extending the purpose to a new disease. Calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) are drugs that have shown effectiveness in several coronaviral diseases, and are well-known and widely used drugs in transplant medicine. The aim of this narrative review is to present the current evidence of CNI in coronaviral diseases, the biophysiology of CNI and to suggest possible ways to study CNI as a new treatment option for COVID-19. We searched original papers, observational studies, case reports, and meta-analyses published between 2000 and 2020 in English in the PubMed database and Google Scholar using the keywords: (coronavirus), (treatment), (MERS), (SARS), (COVID-19), (tacrolimus), (ciclosporin), (cyclosporin) AND (calcineurin inhibitor). We excluded studies in patients with clear indications for immunosuppressive therapy. Additionally, we searched in the preprint servers and the World Health Organization bulletin. Ten studies were identified and included. Calcineurin inhibitor therapy has been suggested to be effective for coronaviral diseases in different settings. The results are summarized in a table. CNI should be investigated as a first treatment option based on evidence of direct antiviral effects and its properties preventing severe systemic hyperinflammation, as has been observed in COVID-19 with predominantly pulmonary immunopathological changes. Full article

Although islet transplantation is recognized as a useful cellular replacement therapy for severe diabetes, surgeons face difficulties in islet engraftment. The transplant site is a pivotal factor that influences the engraftment. Although the liver is the current representative site for clinical islet transplantation, it is not the best site because of limitations in immunity, inflammation, and hypoxia. White adipose tissue, including omentum, is recognized as a useful candidate site for islet transplantation. Its effectiveness has been evaluated in not only various basic and translational studies using small and large animals but also in some recent clinical trials. In this review, we attempt to shed light on the characteristics and usefulness of white adipose tissue as a transplant site for islets. Full article

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is one of the most common hereditary disorders. Once progressed to end-stage renal disease, kidney transplantation may be needed. Whether and when to perform a (bilateral) native nephrectomy in case of end-stage renal failure are issues under debate. At our institution, with a growing number of living kidney donations, the general trend is to perform a native nephrectomy prior to transplantation. Our aim was to compare the outcomes of this approach to a nephrectomy during or after transplantation and to compare our findings to results reported in the literature. Data were prospectively collected from all ADPKD patients undergoing native nephrectomy and kidney transplantation at the Leiden University Medical Center between 2000–2017. A literature search was performed in the PubMed and Scopus databases. The clinical results were retrospectively reviewed and were stratified according to the timing of the nephrectomy. From the literature review, the most practiced approach was a combined unilateral nephrectomy and kidney transplantation. However, in our series, the favored approach was to perform a scheduled bilateral nephrectomy prior to kidney transplantation. A total of 114 patients underwent a native nephrectomy prior to (group 1, n = 85), during (group 2, n = 5), or after (group 3, n = 24) kidney transplantation. There were no statistically significant differences in postoperative morbidity after nephrectomy nor differences in kidney transplant outcome. Bilateral nephrectomy prior to kidney transplantation is a safe, controlled approach carrying minimal complication and mortality rates and facilitating a subsequent transplant procedure without mechanical or hemodynamic limitations for the graft. Full article

The role of anti-HLA antibodies in solid organ rejection is well established and these antibodies are routinely monitored both in patients in the waiting list and in the post-transplant setting. More recently, the presence of other antibodies directed towards non-HLA antigens, or the so-called minor histocompatibility antigens, has drawn the attention of the transplant community; however, their possible involvement in the graft outcome remains uncertain. These antibodies have been described to possibly have a role in rejection and allograft failure. This review focuses on the most studied non-HLA antibodies and their association with different clinical outcomes considered in solid organ transplantation with the aim of clarifying their clinical implication and potential relevance for routine testing. Full article

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is spreading as a pandemic in 2020. Few reports on infections in thoracic transplantation have been published so far. We present a case of COVID-19 in a 55-year old female lung transplant recipient infected 5 months posttransplant, who additionally was co-infected with a Norovirus. Respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms were observed without need of therapeutic escalation except for antibiotic therapy. We observed a moderate disease evolution likely due to triple immunosuppression. Full article

The novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is causing a pandemic of unknown precedent, with huge healthcare challenges and worldwide disruptions to economic and social life. Lung transplant recipients and other solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients are immunosuppressed, and therefore are generally considered at an increased risk for severe infections. Given the current gap in knowledge and evidence regarding the best management of these patients, we conducted a systematic review of studies on SARS-CoV-2 infections and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in SOT recipients, to evaluate the association between immunosuppression in these patients, SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 outcomes. The focus was the severity of the disease, the need for mechanical ventilation and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and rate of death. The literature search was conducted repeatedly between 16 March and 8 April 2020. We searched original papers, observational studies, case reports, and meta-analyses published between 2019 and 2020 using two databases (PubMed, Google Scholar) with the search terms: [transplant OR immunosuppression] AND [COVID-19 OR SARS-CoV-2]. Further inclusion criteria were publications in English, French, German and Italian, and reference to humans. We also searched the reference lists of the studies encountered. From an initial search of PubMed and Google Scholar, 19 potential articles were retrieved, of which 14 were excluded after full-text screening (not being case reports or case series), leaving 5 studies for inclusion. No further studies were identified from the bibliographies of retrieved articles. Based on the limited research, no firm conclusions can be made concerning SOT recipients, but the current evidence suggests that immunosuppression is most likely associated with a better outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 because it prevents hyperinflammation (cytokine storm) in this particular population. There is a need for further research that would allow results to be adjusted for other factors potentially impacting COVID-19 severity and outcome. Full article