Evaluating the Impact of Pulmonary Artery Obstruction After Lung Transplant Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Pulmonary transplant complications: a radiologic review

Lung transplantation has become the definitive treatment for end stage respiratory disease. Numbers and survival rates have increased over the past decade, with transplant recipients living longer and with greater comorbidities, resulting in greater complexity of care. Common and uncommon complications that occur in the immediate, early, intermediate, and late periods can have significant impact on the course of the transplant. Fortunately, advancements in surgery, medical care, and imaging as well as other diagnostics work to prevent, identify, and manage complications that would otherwise have a negative impact on survivability. This review will focus on contextualizing complications both categorically and chronologically, with highlights of specific imaging and clinical features in order to inform both radiologists and clinicians involved in post-transplant care.

False Positive Ventilation/Perfusion SPECT/CT Mismatch Mimicking Pulmonary Embolism in a Patient With Bilateral Lung Transplant

ABSTRACT

Ventilation/perfusion SPECT/CT has very high sensitivity with little false-positive findings for diagnosing pulmonary embolism (PE). However, bronchopulmonary tumors or structural changes of the lungs' vasculature infrequently mimic PE. Here, a 59-year-old man presented with acute dyspnea and acute renal failure 5 years after bilateral lung transplant. Pulmonary ventilation/perfusion SPECT/CT was performed demonstrating a lobar mismatch of the left upper lung lobe indicative for PE. Bronchoscopy revealed local hyperemia of this lobe, indicating prolonged venous blood return. Subsequent CT angiography confirmed postsurgical upper pulmonary vein obliteration as final diagnosis. In conclusion, pulmonary vein obliteration might cause false-positive ventilation/perfusion SPECT/CT.

Year in Review 2021: Noteworthy Literature in Cardiothoracic Critical Care

This year marked a number of milestones in critical care. As vaccines for the SARS-CoV-2 virus became widely available and were confirmed to be exceptionally effective against severe illness and hospitalization, we were then faced with new variants and the resource-intense responses necessary to combat them. Despite challenges new and old, we have persevered and continued to provide excellent care to our patients while pushing the boundaries of clinical research. This article is a collection of studies published in 2021 relevant to critical care, with a specific focus on cardiothoracic critical care. To ignore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic would do a disservice to our colleagues, many of whom have made incredible breakthroughs in novel therapies to the coronavirus, and yet we present additional themes of delirium, acute kidney injury, lung transplant, advances in ECMO as well as biomarkers of sepsis.