The researchers said that physicians should consider transplantation as an option in those with severe bronchiectasis
The study, Outcomes of lung transplantation in adults with bronchiectasis, was published in the journal BMC Pulmonary Medicine.
Although lung transplants are an option for treating severe bronchiectasis, there isn’t a lot of data on the results and outcomes of this procedure in these patients. Researchers from Newcastle University and Freeman Hospital in the U.K. conducted an observational, retrospective study to analyze the outcomes of patients who received a lung transplant at Freeman Hospital between 1990 and 2013.
Most transplants were done using a procedure called bilateral single sequential lung transplantation, considered to be the most appropriate for bronchiectasis patients. In this procedure, each lung is transplanted one at a time. A total of 42 patients (mean age at transplant of 47.1 years) with bronchiectasis were included, who had moderate to severe disease prior to the procedure.
Researchers compared the survival rates between bronchiectasis patients and those with other conditions, who had also received a lung transplant. Lung function and lung infection profiles prior to the transplant were also compared with the patients’ outcomes after the transplant. Survival rates in the first 10 years following the transplant were equivalent between bronchiectasis patients and those with other conditions.
Future studies should assess the rejection rates and prognostic implications associated with Pseudomonas infection, the researchers said.
“Lung transplantation for end-stage BR [bronchiectasis] is a useful therapeutic option, with good survival and lung function outcomes. Survival values were similar to other bilateral lung transplants at our centre,” the team said, adding that “physicians should consider transplantation as an option in those with severe bronchiectasis.”