Fibrinolytic Treatment Improves the Quality of Lungs Retrieved From Non-Heart-Beating Donors

Inci, Ilhan; Zhai, Wei; Arni, Stephan; Inci, Demet; Hillinger, Sven; Lardinois, Didier; Vogt, Peter; Weder, Walter

doi:10.1016/j.healun.2007.07.033

« Previous Next »The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation
Volume 26, Issue 10 , Pages 1054-1060, October 2007

Fibrinolytic Treatment Improves the Quality of Lungs Retrieved From Non-Heart-Beating Donors

Presented at the Twenty-seventh Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, San Francisco, California, April 25–28, 2007.

Ilhan Inci, MD
- University Hospital, Division of Thoracic Surgery, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Reprint requests: Ilhan Inci, MD, University of Zurich, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland. Telephone: 0041-44-255-88-02.
Wei Zhai, MD
- University Hospital, Division of Thoracic Surgery, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Stephan Arni, PhD
- University Hospital, Division of Thoracic Surgery, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Demet Inci, MD
- University Children’s Hospital Division of Respiratory Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Sven Hillinger, MD
- University Hospital, Division of Thoracic Surgery, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Didier Lardinois, MD
- University Hospital, Division of Thoracic Surgery, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Peter Vogt, MD
- Deparment of Pathology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Walter Weder, MD
- University Hospital, Division of Thoracic Surgery, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Received 2 May 2007; received in revised form 13 July 2007; accepted 18 July 2007.

Background

The use of non-heart-beating donors (NHBDs) is an alternative strategy to increase the limited number of donors. The ex vivo evaluation has been proposed to assess the function of the lungs from NHBDs as an interim evaluation of the graft before transplantation. We evaluated the effect of a fibrinolytic agent, urokinase, in a pig ex vivo evaluation model.

Methods

Domestic pigs (30–38 kg) were divided in 3 groups of 5 pigs each. In the Control Heart-Beating Donor (HBD) Group, the lungs were flushed, explanted, and stored in cold solution (4°C) of low potassium dextran for 4 hours. The pigs in the other 2 study groups were non-heart-beating donors (NHBD), and their lungs were topically cooled for 1 hour in the closed chest after 3 hours of warm ischemia. Urokinase (100,000 IU) was added into the perfusate during reperfusion 1n 1 of the NHBD groups (NHBD-UROK). Hemodynamic and aerodynamic parameters were measured. The wet-to-dry weight ratio was calculated.

Results

There was a significant difference between NHBD-UROK and NHBD Groups in pulmonary vascular resistance (22.5 ± 3.06 vs 39.02 ± 6.6 Wood Units, p = 0.032), partial pressure of arterial oxygen/fraction of inspired oxygen (250.8 ± 23.3 vs 148.9 ± 14.6 mm Hg, p = 0.032), oxygenation index (6.9 ± 0.7 vs 15.9 ± 3.2, p = 0.016), and wet-to-dry weight ratio (5.99 ± 0.2 vs 7.74 ± 0.3, p = 0.016). Pulmonary vascular resistance did not differ between the HBD and NHBD-UROK Groups but was significantly higher in the NHBD Group than in the HBD Group (p = 0.032).

Conclusion

Adding urokinase into the perfusate during ex vivo evaluation resulted in improved graft function by reducing pulmonary vascular resistance and increasing oxygenation after 3 hours of warm ischemia. This ex vivo evaluation model is feasible and may be used to recondition grafts from NHBDs.