[Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in acute respiratory distress syndrome after a liver transplant]

Transfusion-Related Acute Lung Injury During Liver Transplantation: A Scoping Review

Liver transplantation is associated with significant blood loss, often requiring massive blood product transfusion. Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) is a devastating cause of transfusion-related deaths. While reports have investigated the general incidence of TRALI, the incidence of TRALI specifically following transfusion during liver transplant remains unclear. This scoping review summarizes existing literature regarding TRALI during the liver transplantation perioperative period. Databases were searched for all articles and abstracts reporting on TRALI after liver transplantation. Data collected included number of patients studied, patient characteristics, incidences of TRALI, TRALI characteristics, and patient outcomes. The primary outcome investigated was the incidence of TRALI in the setting of liver transplantation. Thirteen full-text citations were included in this review. The incidence of TRALI post-liver transplant was 0.68% (65 of 9,554). Based on reported transfusion data, patients diagnosed with TRALI received an average of 10.92 ± 10.81 units of packed red blood cells (pRBC), 20.05 ± 15.72 units of fresh frozen plasma, and 5.75 ± 10.00 units of platelets. Common interventions following TRALI diagnosis included mechanical ventilation with positive end-expiratory pressure, inhaled high-flow oxygen, inhaled pulmonary vasodilator, and pharmacologic treatment using pressors or inotropes, corticosteroids, or diuretics. Based on reported mortality data, 26.67% of patients (12 of 45) diagnosed with TRALI died during the postoperative period. This scoping review underscores the importance of better understanding the incidence and presentation of TRALI after liver transplant surgery. The clinical implications of these results warrant the development of identification and management strategies for liver transplant patients at increased risk for developing TRALI.

[Doses of anti-infectives for systemic use are scarcely notified in clinical cases reported to the Revista Española de Anestesiología y Reanimación]

OBJECTIVE

To describe the frequency of dose notification of antiinfectives for systemic use in clinical cases published in Revista Española de Anestesiología y Reanimación.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

Review of individualized clinical cases published in the sections «Clinical case» or «Letter to the Editor» of the above mentioned journal from year 2010 to 2012, and identification of the drugs and their therapeutic regimens cited in such publications, being dose notification the main variable. Drugs have been classified according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System.

RESULTS

One thousand one hundred and thirty-five drugs cited 1,317 times were identified in 167 articles describing the clinical pictures of 182 patients, 73 of the citations (5.6%) regarding to drugs belonging to group J (Antiinfectives for systemic use) which were divided into perioperative prophylaxis (n=15) and active treatment (n=58). Doses were scarcely notified for group J drugs as a whole (27.4%), but especially for active treatment (17.2%) compared to perioperative prophylaxis (66.7%), percentage which was similar to those more classical anesthetic drugs (fentanyl: 86.6%; remifentanil: 70.5%; sevoflurane: 78%; propofol: 79%; rocuronium:79.6%; cisatracurium: 68.4%) or even for antiemetics (ondansetron: 92.3%; dexamethasone: 84.6%).

CONCLUSIONS

Quality of case reports could be improved by including dose notification for antiinfective agents.