From the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: Transplanting the adolescent cystic fibrosis patient: can we do it?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23147986

Ther Adv Respir Dis. 2013 Apr;7(2):101-9. doi: 10.1177/1753465812464411. Epub 2012 Nov 12.

Transplanting the adolescent cystic fibrosis patient: can we do it?

Oshrine K, McGrath D, Goldfarb S.

Source

Division of Pulmonary Medicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.

Abstract

Bilateral lung transplantation remains a treatment for end-stage cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease when there is no further medical or surgical treatment available. The aim of lung transplantation is to improve patient life expectancy. The consensus view that lung transplantation extends life inchildren has been challenged. However, challengers have faced alternative explanations of their finding and it is largely accepted that lungtransplantation in the adolescent patient population is an important treatment modality. The goal of this article is to address these concerns and assist with developing creative approaches to this known challenging subset of patients. The main focus of this article will be to discuss the looming question: what existing evidence or best practice insights could improve bilateral lung transplantation outcomes for adolescent patients with end-stage CF?