Systematic review on the treatment of deceased organ donors

<strong>Background</strong> Currently, there is no consensus on which treatments should be a part of standard deceased-donor management to improve graft quality and transplantation outcomes. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the effects of treatments of the deceased...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Van Erp, A, Van Dullemen, L, Ploeg, R, Leuvenink, H
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2018
Description
Summary:<strong>Background</strong> Currently, there is no consensus on which treatments should be a part of standard deceased-donor management to improve graft quality and transplantation outcomes. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the effects of treatments of the deceased, solid-organ donor on graft function and survival after transplantation. <br/><br/> <strong>Methods</strong> Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane, and Clinicaltrials.gov were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials that compared deceased-donor treatment versus placebo or no treatment. <br/><br/> <strong>Results</strong> A total of 33 studies were selected for this systematic review. Eleven studies were included for meta-analyses on three different treatment strategies. The meta-analysis on methylprednisolone treatment in liver donors (two studies, 183 participants) showed no effect of the treatment on rates of acute rejection. The meta-analysis on antidiuretic hormone treatment in kidney donors (two studies, 222 participants) indicates no benefit in the prevention of delayed graft function. The remaining meta-analyses (seven studies, 334 participants) compared the effects of 10 min of ischaemic preconditioning on outcomes after liver transplantation and showed that ischaemic preconditioning improved short-term liver function, but not long-term transplant outcomes. <br/><br/> <strong>Conclusions</strong> There is currently insufficient evidence to conclude that any particular drug treatment or any intervention in the deceased donor improves long-term graft or patient survival after transplantation.