National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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- (-) Transplantation (41)
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 25 of 41 Research Studies DisplayedThorsness R, Wang V, Patzer RE
Association of social risk factors with home dialysis and kidney transplant rates in dialysis facilities.
This study examines rates of home dialysis and transplant at dialysis facilities that serve patients with high social risk to understand how they fare under the End-Stage Renal Disease Treatment Choices Model.
AHRQ-funded; HS028285.
Citation: Thorsness R, Wang V, Patzer RE .
Association of social risk factors with home dialysis and kidney transplant rates in dialysis facilities.
JAMA 2021 Dec 14;326(22):2323-25. doi: 10.1001/jama.2021.18372..
Keywords: Dialysis, Kidney Disease and Health, Transplantation, Risk
Krissberg JR, Kaufmann MB, Gupta A
Racial disparities in pediatric kidney transplantation under the new Kidney Allocation System in the United States.
This study aimed to assess how implementation of the 2014 Kidney Allocation System (KAS) affected racial and ethnic disparities in pediatric kidney transplantation access and related outcomes. The authors performed a retrospective cohort study of children <18 years of age active on the kidney transplant list from 2008 to 2019 using the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. Results found that all children experienced longer wait times from activation to transplantation post-KAS. Although they found that Black and Hispanic children and other children of color experienced longer times from activation to transplant compared with White children in both eras; this finding was largely attenuated after multivariable analysis. Multivariable analysis also showed that racial and ethnic disparities in time from dialysis initiation to transplantation in the pre-KAS era were lessened in the post-KAS era. No disparities were found in odds of delayed graft function, however Black and Hispanic children experienced longer times with a functioning graft in the post-KAS era.
AHRQ-funded; HS026128.
Citation: Krissberg JR, Kaufmann MB, Gupta A .
Racial disparities in pediatric kidney transplantation under the new Kidney Allocation System in the United States.
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2021 Dec; 16(12):1862-71. doi: 10.2215/cjn.06740521..
Keywords: Disparities, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Kidney Disease and Health, Transplantation
Valbuena VSM, Obayemi JE, Purnell TS
Gender and racial disparities in the transplant surgery workforce.
This review explores trends in the United States (US) transplant surgery workforce with a focus on historical demographics, post-fellowship job market, and quality of life reported by transplant surgeons. Ongoing efforts to improve women and racial/ethnic minority representation in transplant surgery are highlighted in this paper. Future directions to create a transplant workforce that reflects the diversity of the US population are discussed.
AHRQ-funded; HS024600; HS000053.
Citation: Valbuena VSM, Obayemi JE, Purnell TS .
Gender and racial disparities in the transplant surgery workforce.
Curr Opin Organ Transplant 2021 Oct 1;26(5):560-66. doi: 10.1097/mot.0000000000000915..
Keywords: Workforce, Provider: Physician, Transplantation, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Taber DJ, Fleming JN, Su Z
Significant hospitalization cost savings to the payer with a pharmacist-led mobile health intervention to improve medication safety in kidney transplant recipients.
This paper examined hospitalization cost savings to the payer with a pharmacist-led mobile health intervention to improve medication safety in kidney transplant recipients. This study was an economic analysis of a 12-month, parallel arm, randomized controlled trial in adult kidney recipients 6 to 36 months posttransplant (NCT03247322). All participants received usual posttransplant care, while the intervention arm received supplemental clinical pharmacist-led medication therapy monitoring and management, via a smartphone-enabled mHealth app, integrated with risk-based televisits.
AHRQ-funded; HS023754.
Citation: Taber DJ, Fleming JN, Su Z .
Significant hospitalization cost savings to the payer with a pharmacist-led mobile health intervention to improve medication safety in kidney transplant recipients.
Am J Transplant 2021 Oct;21(10):3428-35. doi: 10.1111/ajt.16737..
Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Provider: Pharmacist, Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Transplantation, Hospitalization, Medication: Safety, Medication
Purnell TS, Simpson DC, Callender CO
Dismantling structural racism as a root cause of racial disparities in COVID-19 and transplantation.
As the United States faces unparalleled challenges due to COVID-19, racial disparities in health and healthcare have once again taken center stage. If effective interventions to address racial disparities in transplantation, including those magnified by COVID-19, are to be designed and implemented at the national level, it is first critical to understand the complex mechanisms by which structural, institutional, interpersonal, and internalized racism influence the presence of racial disparities in healthcare and transplantation. IN this article the authors discuss their viewpoint.
AHRQ-funded; HS024600.
Citation: Purnell TS, Simpson DC, Callender CO .
Dismantling structural racism as a root cause of racial disparities in COVID-19 and transplantation.
Am J Transplant 2021 Jul;21(7):2327-32. doi: 10.1111/ajt.16543..
Keywords: COVID-19, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Disparities, Transplantation, Surgery, Access to Care
Chu S, Bruin MJ, McKinney WT
Design of a patient-centered decision support tool when selecting an organ transplant center.
Patients in the US in need of a life-saving organ transplant must complete a long process of medical decisions, and a first step is to identify a transplant center to complete an evaluation. This study described a patient-centered process of testing and refinement of a new website (www.transplantcentersearch.org) that was developed to provide data to patients who are seeking a transplant center.
AHRQ-funded; HS026379; HS024527.
Citation: Chu S, Bruin MJ, McKinney WT .
Design of a patient-centered decision support tool when selecting an organ transplant center.
PLoS One 2021 May 17;16(5):e0251102. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251102..
Keywords: Transplantation, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Shared Decision Making, Health Information Technology (HIT)
Gonzales HM, Fleming JN, Gebregziabher M
Pharmacist-led mobile health intervention and transplant medication safety: a randomized controlled clinical trial.
The goal of this study was to examine the efficacy of improving medication safety through a pharmacist-led, mobile health-based intervention. In this single-center study of adult kidney recipients 6-36 months post-transplant, findings showed that participants receiving the intervention experienced a significant reduction in medication errors and a significantly lower incidence risk of Grade 3 or higher adverse events. The intervention arm also demonstrated significantly lower rates of hospitalizations.
AHRQ-funded; HS023754.
Citation: Gonzales HM, Fleming JN, Gebregziabher M .
Pharmacist-led mobile health intervention and transplant medication safety: a randomized controlled clinical trial.
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2021 May 8;16(5):776-84. doi: 10.2215/cjn.15911020..
Keywords: Medication: Safety, Medication, Patient Safety, Transplantation, Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Provider: Pharmacist, Provider, Medical Errors, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events
Schaffhausen CR, Bruin MJ, Chu S
Designing a liver transplant patient and family decision support tool for organ offer decisions.
For liver transplant candidates on the waiting list, deciding to accept a donor organ with known or potential risk factors can be stressful and can lead to declined offers. Current education for patients and family often takes place during transplant evaluations and can be overwhelming and result in low retention and poor understanding of donor quality. In this study, the investigators sought to understand provider experiences when counseling patients about donor risks and donor offers.
AHRQ-funded; HS026379; HS024527.
Citation: Schaffhausen CR, Bruin MJ, Chu S .
Designing a liver transplant patient and family decision support tool for organ offer decisions.
Transplant Direct 2021 May;7(5):e695. doi: 10.1097/txd.0000000000001140..
Keywords: Transplantation, Shared Decision Making, Education: Patient and Caregiver
Schulz GL, Kelly KP, Holtmann M
Navigating decisional conflict as a family when facing the decision of stem cell transplant for a child or adolescent with sickle cell disease.
Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) face unpredictable disease, with stem cell transplant being a curative treatment option with risks. The aim of this study was to describe the level and source of decisional conflict in families of children/adolescents with SCD facing a transplant decision. The investigators concluded that varying levels and sources of decisional conflict existed in pediatric patients with SCD and their families considering transplant.
AHRQ-funded; HS022140.
Citation: Schulz GL, Kelly KP, Holtmann M .
Navigating decisional conflict as a family when facing the decision of stem cell transplant for a child or adolescent with sickle cell disease.
Patient Educ Couns 2021 May;104(5):1086-93. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2020.10.011..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Sickle Cell Disease, Chronic Conditions, Transplantation, Shared Decision Making
Bae S, Johnson M, Massie AB
Mortality and access to kidney transplantation in patients with sickle cell disease-associated kidney failure.
Patients with sickle cell disease-associated kidney failure have high mortality, which might be lowered by kidney transplantation. However, because they show higher post-transplant mortality compared with patients with other kidney failure etiologies, kidney transplantation remains controversial in this population. In this study, the investigators aimed to quantify the decrease in mortality associated with transplantation in this population and determine the chance of receiving transplantation with sickle cell disease as the cause of kidney failure as compared with other etiologies of kidney failure.
AHRQ-funded; HS024600.
Citation: Bae S, Johnson M, Massie AB .
Mortality and access to kidney transplantation in patients with sickle cell disease-associated kidney failure.
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2021 Mar 8;16(3):407-14. doi: 10.2215/cjn.02720320..
Keywords: Transplantation, Access to Care, Kidney Disease and Health, Mortality
Pennington KM, Dykhoff HJ, Yao X
The impact of antifungal prophylaxis in lung transplant recipients.
This study evaluated the effect of antifungal prophylaxis on all-cause mortality and invasive fungal infections (IFI) on lung transplant recipients. Administrative claims data was used to identify adult patients who underwent lung transplantation between 2005 and 2018. The authors identified 662 lung transplant recipients. All-cause mortality was found to be significantly lower in those receiving antifungal prophylaxis compared to those who did not. Patients receiving antifungal prophylaxis also had a lower rate of IFI, but it was not statistically significant.
AHRQ-funded; HS025164; HS025402; HS025517; HS024075.
Citation: Pennington KM, Dykhoff HJ, Yao X .
The impact of antifungal prophylaxis in lung transplant recipients.
Ann Am Thorac Soc 2021 Mar;18(3):468-76. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.202003-267OC..
Keywords: Transplantation, Surgery, Medication, Prevention, Respiratory Conditions, Mortality, Outcomes, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Evidence-Based Practice
McKinney WT, Schaffhausen CR, Schladt D
Designing a patient-specific search of transplant program performance and outcomes: feedback from heart transplant candidates and recipients.
The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients provides transplant program-specific information, but it is unclear what patients and stakeholders need to know. Acceptance criteria for the candidate waitlist and donor organs vary by program and region, but there is no means to search for programs by the clinical profiles of recipients and donors. The authors examined variability in program-specific characteristics that could influence access to transplantation.
AHRQ-funded; HS026379; HS024527.
Citation: McKinney WT, Schaffhausen CR, Schladt D .
Designing a patient-specific search of transplant program performance and outcomes: feedback from heart transplant candidates and recipients.
Clin Transplant 2021 Feb;35(2):e14183. doi: 10.1111/ctr.14183..
Keywords: Transplantation, Surgery, Heart Disease and Health, Cardiovascular Conditions, Registries, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Evidence-Based Practice, Shared Decision Making
Wang W, Rees MA, Leichtman AB
Deceased donors as nondirected donors in kidney paired donation.
As proof of concept, the investigators simulated a revised kidney allocation system that included deceased donor (DD) kidneys as chain-initiating kidneys (DD-CIK) in a kidney paired donation pool (KPDP) and estimated potential increases in number of transplants. They considered chains of length 2 in which the DD-CIK gave to a candidate in the KPDP, and that candidate's incompatible donor donated to the DD waitlist.
AHRQ-funded; HS020610.
Citation: Wang W, Rees MA, Leichtman AB .
Deceased donors as nondirected donors in kidney paired donation.
Am J Transplant 2021 Jan;21(1):103-13. doi: 10.1111/ajt.16268..
Keywords: Transplantation, Kidney Disease and Health
Almasri J, Tello M, Benkhadra R
A systematic review for variables to be collected in a transplant database for improving risk prediction.
This study is a systematic review that was commissioned to identify new variables associated with transplant outcomes that are not currently collected by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. They identified 81 unique studies including almost 1.2 million patients with median follow-up of 36 months posttransplant. A total of 108 unique risk factors were reported with most (104) recipient related and only 4 donor related. Most risk factors were small to moderate (ranging between 1.0 and 2.0). There were four relative association measures that were the strongest: 1) heart transplant recipients with a previous Fontan operation (8.6); 2) kidney transplant recipients with sickle cell nephropathy as primary cause of end-stage renal disease (2.8); 3) liver transplant recipients with serum ferritin >500 microg/L (14.3); and 4) lung transplant recipients with Burkholderia cepacia complex infection for 1 year or less (63.). These four risk factors were considered candidates for collection in databases and registries.
AHRQ-funded; HS024527.
Citation: Almasri J, Tello M, Benkhadra R .
A systematic review for variables to be collected in a transplant database for improving risk prediction.
Transplantation 2019 Dec;103(12):2591-601. doi: 10.1097/tp.0000000000002652..
Keywords: Transplantation, Risk, Shared Decision Making
Montgomery JR, Waits SA, Dimick JB
Risks of bariatric surgery among patients with end-stage renal disease.
Pretransplant morbid obesity among patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a significant predictor of delayed access to transplant and inferior posttransplant patient and kidney allograft outcomes. In this study, the authors performed an analysis of perioperative safety of bariatric surgery in obese patients with ESRD using a national registry capturing greater than 95% of bariatric operations.
AHRQ-funded; HS025778.
Citation: Montgomery JR, Waits SA, Dimick JB .
Risks of bariatric surgery among patients with end-stage renal disease.
JAMA Surg 2019 Dec;154(12):1160-62. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2019.2824..
Keywords: Surgery, Obesity, Obesity: Weight Management, Kidney Disease and Health, Transplantation, Risk, Chronic Conditions
Feldman AG, Sundaram SS, Beaty BL
Immunization status at the time of liver transplant in children and adolescents.
In this research letter, the authors quantified the percentage of patients at Society of Pediatric Liver Transplantation centers who were up to date for their age on immunizations at the time of transplant, and determined whether demographic and clinical factors were associated with immunization status at the time of transplant. They concluded that further research is needed to understand barriers to immunization in the pediatric transplant population and called for novel tools that provide pretransplant vaccine education and enhance communication between primary care and subspecialty clinicians.
AHRQ-funded; HS026510.
Citation: Feldman AG, Sundaram SS, Beaty BL .
Immunization status at the time of liver transplant in children and adolescents.
JAMA 2019 Nov 12;322(18):1822-24. doi: 10.1001/jama.2019.14386..
Keywords: Transplantation, Children/Adolescents, Vaccination, Surgery
DiBrito SR, Bowring MG, Holscher CM
Acute care surgery for transplant recipients: a national survey of surgeon perspectives and practices.
This study is a survey of acute care surgeons (ACS) and transplant surgeons on their attitudes as to who would feel comfortable operating on transplant patients for nontransplant-related issues. The researchers conducted a national survey of ACS and transplant surgeons and obtained 230 ACS responses and 240 from transplant surgeons. While both ACS and transplant surgeons felt care is better at transplant centers and if the patient requires acute surgery they should be transferred to a transplant center, the ACS still felt comfortable operating and performing laparoscopy on transplant recipients.
Citation: DiBrito SR, Bowring MG, Holscher CM .
Acute care surgery for transplant recipients: a national survey of surgeon perspectives and practices.
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Keywords: Transplantation, Surgery, Provider: Physician, Provider, Practice Patterns
Luo X, Mogul DB, Massie AB
Predicting chance of liver transplantation for pediatric wait-list candidates.
The authors sought to predict the chance of receiving a deceased donor liver transplant (DDLT) for pediatric patients. Their model accurately predicted chance of transplant and was able to predict DDLT at specific follow-up times. They conclude that their model can serve as the basis for an online tool that would provide useful information for pediatric wait-list candidates.
AHRQ-funded; HS023876.
Citation: Luo X, Mogul DB, Massie AB .
Predicting chance of liver transplantation for pediatric wait-list candidates.
Pediatr Transplant 2019 Nov;23(7):e13542. doi: 10.1111/petr.13542..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Transplantation, Healthcare Delivery, Access to Care
Mogul DB, Fredericks EM, Brady TM
Digital wings: innovations in transition readiness for adolescent and young adult transplant recipients.
This article reports on two multi-stakeholder symposia organized by The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine on February 2, 2018, and January 11, 2019, to address the problem of high graft failure in adolescent and young adult solid organ transplant recipients. Additionally, data collected from recipients demonstrated a substantial gap in how this population uses technologies for health-related activities, alongside an increased interest in an app to help them manage their transplant.
AHRQ-funded; HS023876.
Citation: Mogul DB, Fredericks EM, Brady TM .
Digital wings: innovations in transition readiness for adolescent and young adult transplant recipients.
Transplantation 2019 Oct;103(10):1970-74. doi: 10.1097/tp.0000000000002749..
Keywords: Transplantation, Children/Adolescents, Young Adults, Surgery, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Evidence-Based Practice
Purnell TS, Luo X, Crews DC
Neighborhood poverty and sex differences in live donor kidney transplant outcomes in the United States.
Neighborhood poverty has been associated with worse outcomes after live donor kidney transplantation (LDKT), and prior work suggests that women with kidney disease may be more susceptible to the negative influence of poverty than men. As such, our goal was to examine whether poverty differentially affects women in influencing LDKT outcomes. The investigators concluded that given their findings that poverty was more strongly associated with graft loss in women, targeted efforts are needed to specifically address mechanisms driving these disparities in LDKT outcomes.
AHRQ-funded; HS024600.
Citation: Purnell TS, Luo X, Crews DC .
Neighborhood poverty and sex differences in live donor kidney transplant outcomes in the United States.
Transplantation 2019 Oct;103(10):2183-89. doi: 10.1097/tp.0000000000002654.
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Keywords: Transplantation, Kidney Disease and Health, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Disparities, Women, Sex Factors, Low-Income, Outcomes
Stepkowski SM, Mierzejewska B, Fumo D
The 6-year clinical outcomes for patients registered in a multiregional United States Kidney Paired Donation program - a retrospective study.
This retrospective study examined 6-year clinical outcomes for patients registered in a multiregional US Kidney Paired Donation (KPF) program. A total of 1121 end-stage renal disease patients who registered with their willing/incompatible living donors for kidney exchange were followed. Out of the 1121, 65% were transplanted with 37% of them in kidney paired donations, 10% with compatible live donors, and 18% with deceased donors. The remaining patients withdrew due to illness or death, or were still waiting (20%). There were similar survival rates with the different donor methods.
AHRQ-funded; HS020610.
Citation: Stepkowski SM, Mierzejewska B, Fumo D .
The 6-year clinical outcomes for patients registered in a multiregional United States Kidney Paired Donation program - a retrospective study.
Transpl Int 2019 Aug;32(8):839-53. doi: 10.1111/tri.13423..
Keywords: Kidney Disease and Health, Mortality, Outcomes, Transplantation
Mogul DB, Lee J, Purnell TS
Barriers to access in pediatric living-donor liver transplantation.
This study examined knowledge and attitudes about living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) among patients/caregivers for children awaiting or having received a liver transplant. LDLT is only used for 10% of transplant recipients, but has a much better outcome. A survey was conducted among 217 respondents. While 97% of respondents knew an individual could donate a portion of their kidney, only 72% knew evaluation steps, and 69% knew the donor surgery was covered by the recipient’s insurance. Individuals receiving public insurance and without a college degree were less likely to know someone who had been a living donor. This gap in knowledge can create barriers to increasing LDLT for children.
AHRQ-funded; HS023876; HS024600.
Citation: Mogul DB, Lee J, Purnell TS .
Barriers to access in pediatric living-donor liver transplantation.
Pediatr Transplant 2019 Sep;23(6):e13513. doi: 10.1111/petr.13513..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Access to Care, Transplantation
Yanik MV, Seifert ME MV, Seifert ME, Locke JE
CYP3A5 genotype affects time to therapeutic tacrolimus level in pediatric kidney transplant recipients.
Optimal management of immunosuppression in kidney transplantation requires a delicate balance of efficacy and toxicity. Tacrolimus (TAC) dose requirements are significantly impacted by genetic variation in CYP3A5 polymorphisms, however the impact that genotype has on clinical outcomes in the pediatric kidney transplant population remains unclear. In this study, the investigators evaluated a retrospective cohort of 98 pediatric kidney transplant recipients. In this paper, they report on their findings.
AHRQ-funded; HS013852.
Citation: Yanik MV, Seifert ME MV, Seifert ME, Locke JE .
CYP3A5 genotype affects time to therapeutic tacrolimus level in pediatric kidney transplant recipients.
Pediatr Transplant 2019 Aug;23(5):e13494. doi: 10.1111/petr.13494..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Transplantation, Kidney Disease and Health, Genetics
Chang SH, Wang M, Liu X
Racial/ethnic disparities in access and outcomes of simultaneous liver-kidney transplant among liver transplant candidates with renal dysfunction in the United States.
Since the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) allocation system was implemented, the proportion of simultaneous liver-kidney transplantation (SLKT) has increased significantly. The investigators study whether racial/ethnic disparities exist in access to SLKT and post-SLKT survival. The investigators concluded that in the MELD era, racial/ethnic differences exist in access and survival of SLKT for patients with renal dysfunction at listing for LT.
AHRQ-funded; HS022330.
Citation: Chang SH, Wang M, Liu X .
Racial/ethnic disparities in access and outcomes of simultaneous liver-kidney transplant among liver transplant candidates with renal dysfunction in the United States.
Transplantation 2019 Aug;103(8):1663-74. doi: 10.1097/tp.0000000000002574..
Keywords: Access to Care, Disparities, Kidney Disease and Health, Outcomes, Policy, Transplantation
Hart A, Gustafson SK, Wey A
The association between loss of Medicare, immunosuppressive medication use, and kidney transplant outcomes.
The purpose of this study was to determine the association between the timing of Medicare loss and immunosuppressive medication fills and kidney allograft loss. Findings indicated that the medication possession ratio (MPR) was lower for recipients with early or late Medicare loss compared with no coverage loss for all immunosuppressive medication types. When recipients were matched by age, posttransplant timing of Medicare loss, and donor risk, the hazard of allograft loss was significantly higher after Medicare loss, with no difference in the hazard for on-time Medicare loss.
AHRQ-funded; HS024527.
Citation: Hart A, Gustafson SK, Wey A .
The association between loss of Medicare, immunosuppressive medication use, and kidney transplant outcomes.
Am J Transplant 2019 Jul;19(7):1964-71. doi: 10.1111/ajt.15293..
Keywords: Kidney Disease and Health, Medicare, Medication, Outcomes, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Transplantation