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Objective: To analyze the gene mutation spectrum, clinical features, and the factors of disease progression and prognosis in patients with essential thrombocytosis (ET) . Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 178 newly diagnosed ET patients admitted from February 1st, 2009 to November 1st, 2018. Results: Of the 178 patients, 89 were male and 89 female, and the median diagnosis age was 49.5 (3-86) years old. JAK2V617F, CALR and MPL mutations frequencies were 16.45% (1.67%-43.90%) , 40.00% (10.00%-49.15%) and 25.10% (25.00%-40.00%) , respectively. Compared with patients with CALR mutations, patients with JAK2V617F mutation had higher diagnosis age ( P =0.035) , higher white blood cell count ( P =0.040) , higher hemoglobin concentration ( P =0.001) , and lower platelet count ( P =0.002) , respectively. Of them, 47 patients (27.01%) developed thrombotic events before diagnosis, and 3 ones (1.72%) experienced thrombotic events after diagnosis. Multivariate analysis revealed age >60 years ( P =0.013, OR =4.595, 95% CI 1.382-15.282) and cardiovascular risk factors (CVF) ( P <0.001, OR =8.873, 95% CI 2.921-26.955) as risk factors for thrombotic events, CALR mutation ( P =0.032, OR =0.126, 95% CI 0.019-0.838) as a protective factor for thrombotic events. Age >60 years ( P =0.042, OR =4.045, 95% CI 1.053-15.534) was found to be a risk factor for the overall survival (OS) of ET patients. OS of age ≤60 years and age>60 years were calculated by Kaplan-Meier analysis to be (115.231±1.899) months and (83.291±4.991) months ( χ (2)=6.406, P =0.011) , respectively. Conclusion: Age>60 years and CVF were risk factors for thrombotic event. CALR mutation was a protective factor for thrombotic event. Age >60 years was a risk factor for OS in ET patients.

Background: The purpose of this study was to identify the follow-up status of living kidney donors after transplantation., Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of the medical record data from one hospital in Korea. Eighty-one donors from February 2010 to April 2016 were selected for analysis of follow-up status. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Kaplan-Meier estimator, and Cox regression., Results: Overall, 48.4% of donors continued to participate in follow-up visits. Donor follow-up rates at 1, 2, and 3 years were 75.1%, 58.2%, and 48.4%, respectively. Significant predictors of follow-up loss among donors were smoking habit and the type of follow-up health care provider., Conclusion: For management of the physical and psychological health of donors, continuous care by the nephrologist and surgeon is required following transplantation., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Early hospital readmissions are common after kidney transplantation. This single-center retrospective study investigated the relationship between early hospital readmissions and clinical outcomes. All adult patients receiving a kidney transplant at this center between March 2009 and June 2015 were included. The early hospital readmissions within the first 30 days were numbered, and the diagnosis was ascertained. The patients were divided into None and Readmission groups. Clinical outcomes and patient- and death-censored graft survival were compared. Among the 103 patients included in the study, 32 (31.1%) had 1 or more readmissions within 30 days. Surgical complications, electrolyte imbalance, and acute rejection were common causes of readmission. No differences were observed in baseline characteristics between the two groups. Patients with early readmissions exhibited low renal function at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively (P = .002, .020, and .013, respectively). No difference in graft function was found 12 months after transplantation between the None and Readmission groups. Five-year graft and patient survival also showed no difference between the two groups (P = .424 and .442, respectively). In conclusion, early readmission after kidney transplantation affected lower graft function until 1 year after kidney transplantation. However, the long-term effect on graft function is limited in this study., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate the value of platelet count in predicting the efficacy of rituximab treatment in chronic primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in 103 chronic ITP patients hospitalized in our medical center between January 2011 and December 2014. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) of platelet count in different time points were analyzed for the predictor of treatment response. Optimal cutoff values were established using ROC analysis. Results: A total of 103 patients were included in the study. There were 46 males and 57 females, with a median age of 30 (18-67) years. At day 1, 3 and 7 after the first dose of rituximab, there was no significant difference in platelet counts between the success group (PLT≥50×10(9)/L after treatment) and the failure group (PLT≤50×10(9)/L after treatment) ( P >0.05). At day 14 after rituximab treatment (PTD 14), platelet counts became significantly different in the success and failure groups[41(8-384)×10(9)/L vs 23(0-106)×10(9)/L, P =0.003], and remained different thereafter, with increasing significance in the subsequent follow-ups. Patients were divided further using an optimal cut-off platelet count of 50×10(9)/L on PTD 14, PTD 30, and PTD 60, and PPV and NPV values were calculated for predicting eventual success and failure. Conclusion: Response can be predicted by obtaining platelet counts at 14, 30 and 60 days after rituximab treatment. The study proposed a protocol that guides patient monitoring and management planning.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the knowledge, attitude, educational needs, and will of nursing students on organ donation from brain-dead donors., Methods: Data were collected by using a 40-item questionnaire to measure knowledge, attitude, educational needs, and will for organ donation of 215 nursing college students in one university in Dangjin city from May 11 to May 31, 2017. The data were analyzed using SPSS 22 program (Data Solution Inc, Seoul)., Results: In the general characteristics, 85.1% of the subjects did not receive education on donation, and 99.5% of the subjects responded that education is needed. The desired methods of education were special lecture in school (55.3%), "webtoons" on the Internet (19.5%), formal curriculum (15.8%). Points to improve to increase brain-death organ transplantation and donation included "active publicity through pan-national campaign activities" (56.3%), "respecting prior consent from brain-dead donors" (21.9%), and "encouragement and increased support for organ donors" (12.1%). There was a significant difference in knowledge according to will for organ donation (t = 3.29, P = .001) and consent to brain-death organ donation in family members (t = 3.29, P = .001). There was a statistically significant positive correlation between attitude and knowledge of the subjects regarding brain-death organ donation., Conclusion: The knowledge, attitude, educational need, and will for organ donation of nursing students revealed in this study will be used as basic data to provide systematic transplant education including contents about organ transplantation in the regular nursing curriculum in the future. It will contribute to the activation of organ donation., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The purpose of this study was to understand the adjustment process after kidney transplantation., Methods: The research method followed grounded theory methodology of Strauss and Corbin. Twelve recipients after kidney transplantation were selected. The data were collected through in-depth, face-to-face interviews or e-mailing or phone-interviews and analyzed by means of a constant comparative method., Results: Through the category analysis, "struggling for independence" was verified as the central phenomenon of recipients, and the causal conditions that influence this phenomenon were "unpredictable physical status," "the difficulty of self-care," "apathy of families and friends," and "emotional instability." The contextual conditions were "social prejudice" and "difficulty in returning to society," and the intervening conditions were "significant others support" and "religious support." The action/interaction strategies were "inner reviewing strategies," "interactive strategies," and "active self-maintaining strategies." From this observation, "establishing guidelines for living" was derived as the result., Conclusions: The results of this study provided deep understanding on the adjustment process after kidney transplantation, and this would help to provide a frame for individualized medical and nursing intervention strategies in assisting the psychosocial adaptation of the kidney transplantation recipient., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Little is known about the extent to which transplant recipients face psychologic distress with the receipt of a transplanted organ. The purpose of this study was to investigate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and psychologic distress in 105 adults who had undergone kidney transplantation (KT)., Methods: HRQoL was measured with the use of the Korean version of Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36 version 2, and psychologic distress with the use of the Transplant Effects Questionnaire (TEQ). Clinical and demographic data were collected from questionnaires. The data were collected from August 2014 to November 2014 at 2 medical centers in Korea., Results: Of the 105 patients, 53.3% were male and the overall mean age was 46.99 years. The mean score of each of the TEQ subscales ranged from 2.45 to 4.62. In the subscales of HRQoL, the mean score of physical component summary (PCS) was 50.23, and the mean score of mental component summary (MCS) was 46.19. MCS was negatively correlated with worry (P = .001) and guilt (P = .037) and positively correlated with adherence (P = .006) in the TEQ subscales, whereas there was no significant correlation between PCS and the TEQ subscales., Conclusions: The study indicates that mental HRQoL is correlated with psychologic distress. Therefore, to increase the HRQoL, continuous attention is needed in kidney transplant recipients who experience psychologic distress and adherence problem. In addition, further empirical studies should be conducted to explain the mechanisms underlying this relationship., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The outcomes of kidney transplant recipients with increased body mass index (BMI) remain controversial. We studied the relationship between changes in BMI and kidney transplant function, especially during the first year after transplantation., Methods: We performed an observational cohort study of all kidney transplant recipients at our center from March 2009 to June 2014 to determine whether changes in BMI were associated with kidney transplant function, as measured by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Recipient BMI and eGFR were calculated pre-transplant and at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 postoperative months (POM) after transplantation. The correlation between changes in BMI and eGFR was then evaluated., Results: Eighty-one patients were studied. There was a strong negative correlation between changes in BMI and eGFR from pre-transplant to POM 1 (correlation coefficient, -0.406; P < .0001) and from POM 1 to POM 3 (r = -0.324, P = .004)., Conclusions: We found that increased BMI caused a significant decline in renal function as measured by eGFR, especially in the initial 3 months after kidney transplantation., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Because of the development of various desensitization strategies, ABO-incompatible (ABOi) living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has become a feasible option for patients with end-stage liver disease. However, there has been no united desensitization protocol for ABOi LDLT. We analyzed the outcomes after establishment of simplified protocol without splenectomy, intravenous immunoglobulin, and local infusion therapy., Methods: We analyzed 19 ABOi LDLT cases that had been performed between January 2012 and December 2013, without splenectomy and local infusion. We used a single dose of rituximab (375 mg/m(2)) 10 days before transplantation and several series of plasma exchange according to the recipients' iso-agglutinin titer-to-target titer ratio of 1:32., Results: Nineteen recipients received ABOi LTs from living donors. The mean initial immunoglobulin (Ig) M and IgG anti-ABO titers were 76.63 ± 78.81 (range, 8∼256) and 162.53 ± 464.1 (0∼2048). We performed preoperative plasma exchange to 16 recipients (mean number of sessions, 3.58; range, 1-10). After surgery, 9 patients received plasma exchange (mean, 1.84; range 1∼14). One death occurred as the result of pneumonia (5.3%). There were 4 cases of acute rejections (21.1%), and all of them were treated successfully with steroid pulse or thymoglobulin. Antibody-mediated rejection and graft failure did not occur. Six cases of postoperative complications (31.6%) occurred, including 3 cases of infections. There were 2 cases of biliary anastomotic stricture (10.5%) and 1 case of portal vein stenosis (5.3%)., Conclusions: ABOi LDLT with the use of simplified protocol can be safely performed without increased risk of antibody-mediated rejection and other complications., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Many obstacles beset islet transplantation, particularly insufficient tissue mass. Previously, we reported production of pseudo-islets. In addition, there have been reports in which coculture with pancreatic islet and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) demonstrated positive effects on pancreatic islet function. The purpose of this study was to perform morphologic and functional evaluations of pancreatic pseudo-islets cocultured with BMSCs. Pancreatic endocrine cells (PECs) were collected with a previously reported method; bone marrow was aspirated from the rat femur. Subsequently, PECs and BMSCs cocultured at high density on low-cell-binding culture dishes kept suspended by shaking. The functionality and characteristics of the mixed cell complexes were evaluated by glucose challenge, insulin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction, and immunohistochemistry. Through expansion for 2 weeks in continuous culture passages, ∼1 million PECs were recovered after aggregation. They presented spherical shapes and sizes similar to naïve islets, according to phase-contrast microscopy. The spheroid aggregates of pancreatic islet cells and BMSCs showed fortified functions and maintained viability. In conclusion, PECs served as a cell source for pseudo-islets, which were both morphologically and genetically similar to naïve islets. We also suggest a manufacturing method for mixed cellular complexes from 2 different origins that can improve secretion ability and cell differentiation., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The present study compared the efficacy and safety of mizoribine (MZR) with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in kidney transplantation. This multicenter, randomized clinical trial. Employed doses of study drug tailored to the immunosuppressive need. The primary efficacy outcome was the incidence of biopsy-proven acute rejection episodes (BPAR). The safety of the study drug was assessed using the incidences of adverse events, drug discontinuations, and abnormal laboratory results. The 7 (6.4%) BPARs above grade II were observed in the MZR group noninferior to the 2 (1.8%) in the MMF group (95% confidence interval, -0.007-0.097 > noninferiority limit [-0.2]). BPAR was significantly decreased in the MZR group after the dose change (17/41 [41.4%] vs 8/69 [11.6%]; P < .0001) and the incidence of BPAR was similar between the MZR and MMF groups after the dose change (P = .592). The uric acid level was significantly elevated in the MZR group (P = .002). In conclusion, the efficacy and safety of MZR were similar and statistically noninferior to MMF in combination therapy with tacrolimus., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: We sought to evaluate total and segmental liver regeneration by comparing preoperative computed tomographic (CT) volumetry and CT volumetry on postoperative day (POD) 7 after a right hepatectomy, in patients with various status and surgical indications., Method: We included 36 patients who underwent right lobectomy for living donor liver transplantation (healthy group), and 29 for hepatocellular carcinoma treatment (disease group). All of the disease group patients were Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) class A. The regeneration of lateral, medial segment and total remnant liver volumes were assessed on POD 7 using a CT-based program. Total volumes and segmental volumes were measured for total liver, future liver remnant (FLR), and liver remnant. We calculated total and segmental early regeneration indexes, defined as [(VLR-VFLR)/VFLR]×100, where VLR is volume of the liver remnant and VFLR is volume of the FLR., Result: The VLR at POD 7 showed a 72.9% increase in volume among the healthy versus 55% in the disease group, (P=.012) In the disease group, segmental volume and regeneration indexes were also significantly lower than among the healthy group: 59.0% versus 46.9% in the medial and 86.8% versus 57.7% in the lateral segment (P=.023 and P<.001) respectively., Conclusion: The volume regeneration potential in diseased livers is significantly lower than that of a normal, healthy liver. So, we must consider a patient's liver status and volume profile before an extensive liver., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The role of lymphocyte cross-matches (LCM) remains controversial in the liver transplant field. The aim of this study was to correlate the risk for acute rejection episodes and graft survival in liver transplantation with pretransplant LCM results., Patients and Methods: We enrolled 184 adult liver transplantation patients, excluding pediatric and second grafts. The 129 living donor and 55 deceased donor liver transplantations were divided into 2 groups: LCM (+); (n=20) and LCM (-); (n=164)., Results: There were no differences in the demographic features, such as gender and recipient age, original disease, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score, donor type, number of human leukocyte antigen mismatches, and cold ischemia times. There were no hyperacute rejection episodes in the LCM (+) group. Also, posttransplant complications such as acute rejection episode, biliary complication, or hepatic artery thrombosis were not different. Acute rejection episodes occurred in 5.0% of the LCM (+) group and 15.2% of the LCM (-) group (P=.317). Bile duct complications after transplantation arose in 20.0% of the LCM (+) group and in 32.9% of the LCM (-) group (P=.312). The 2 groups showed no difference in graft survival rate analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method according to LCM results., Conclusion: Pretransplant LCM results were not associated with overall graft survival or acute rejection episodes in this study., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Recently, the impact of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatch (MM) on graft outcome has diminished since the introduction of potent immunosuppressive agents, whereas previous reports support the notion that greater numbers of HLA matches are beneficial. This study was undertaken to evaluate outcomes after five or six HLA-mismatched living donor kidney transplantations (LDKT)., Methods: The authors retrospectively reviewed graft function after 2687 LDKTs performed between June 1984 and February 2010. A database of 1364 living related and 1063 living-unrelated donor (LURD) kidney transplantations was used for this study. LURD kidney transplantations were classified into three groups; (1) zero to one HLA MM (n = 158); (2) two to four HLA MM (n = 851); and (3) five to six MM (n = 54). An acute rejection episode was diagnosed based on clinical deterioration of graft function or biopsy findings. Graft survival was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method., Results: Graft survivals in the zero to one HLA MM, two to four HLA MM, five to six HLA MM, and one-haplo MM LDKT were not significantly different. The rates of acute rejection episodes within 1 year after transplantation were similar irrespective of the HLA MM; (1) zero to one HLA MM (37.3%), (2) two to four HLA MM (35.3%), (3) five to six HLA MM (33.3%; P = .832)., Conclusions: Survival of five or six HLA-mismatched LDKTs was comparable to that of one-haplo MM and relatively well-matched LDKT. The study showed that the presence of five or six HLA MM was not a risk factor for graft survival after LDKT., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Enteric-coated mycophenolate sodium (myfortic, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland) is designed to improve the gastrointestinal tolerability of micophenolic acid. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of myfortic in Korean de novo renal transplantation. A total of 65 patients from four transplantation centers received the study drug at least once and were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. This study was an open-label, single-arm, multicenter trial with 6-month patient follow-up. Patients received 360 mg (body weight < 50 kg) or 720 mg (body weight > 50 kg) of myfortic per day with tacrolimus and steroids. Induction therapy included basiliximab. The incidence of biopsy-confirmed acute rejection (primary endpoint) within 6 months after transplantation was 7/65 (10.8%). There were 2 (3.1%) graft losses due to severe acute rejection and 1 (1.5%) patient-death due to cardiac arrest. Twenty-two (38.8%) patients experienced gastrointestinal discomfort; however, only 3 (4.5%) cases were associated with an apparent drug reaction. Seventeen (25.4%) patients underwent dose adjustment or myfortic discontinuation during the study period. Patient and graft survival rates at 6 months posttransplantation were 98.1% and 97.0%. Myfortic with tacrolimus-based immunosuppression was efficient and safe after de novo renal transplantation in Korean patients., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Video-assisted minilaparotomy surgical (VAMS) nephrectomy is believed to provide better cosmetic outcomes than open-donor nephrectomy in healthy donors. However, the results of a few studies have influenced the opinion of donors on their physical appearance. This study investigated the satisfaction of donors after a VAMS living donor nephrectomy., Methods: Donors who underwent VAMS living donor nephrectomy between 2009 and 2011 were requested to fill out a body image questionnaire. This questionnaire consisted of three subscales: body image scale (BS), confidence in surgery scale (CS), and hospital experience scale (HS). A total of 20 VAMS living nephrectomy donors completed the questionnaire., Results: The study included 3 male and 17 female donors of overall mean age of 38.7 ± 12.4 years. Eight donors were unmarried (40.0%), 11 were married (55.0%), and 1 was divorced. The mean follow-up was 7.9 ± 4.5 months. The mean BS, CS, and HS scores were 41.6 ± 5.3, 21.85 ± 8.3, and 13.9 ± 2.2, corresponding to perfect scores of 50, 30, and 20, respectively., Conclusion: The results of this study showed that VAMS nephrectomy donors tended to be pleased with their body image, operation, and hospital experiences., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Biliary complications remain a major cause of morbidity after liver transplantation, especially in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). Maintaining adequate blood supply to the bile duct is important for the prevention of biliary complications. The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of different techniques for bile duct anastomosis on posttransplantation biliary complications. From August 2005 to August 2008, 121 liver transplantations were performed at our center. Among the total 121 liver transplant recipients, 68 patients underwent a LDLT using a right lobe graft and were enrolled in this study. We used classic dissection for the first 38 recipients and the hilar plate looping technique for the next 30 patients. The hilar plate looping technique involves the looping of the complete hilar plate and Glissonian sheath around the hepatic duct after full dissection of the right hepatic artery and portal vein. Biliary complications were defined as bilomas or strictures that developed within 6 months after transplantation and required surgical or radiological intervention. There were no significant demographic differences between the 2 groups. The incidence of complications was 15 (39.5%) for classic dissection and 3 (18.8%) for hilar plate looping. Furthermore, there were no biliary strictures in the hilar plate looping group, and there was a significant difference in the complication rate between the 2 groups (P = .011). In conclusion, the hilar plate looping technique during LDLT significantly reduces recipient biliary complications., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Proper maintenance of immunosuppression is required to achieve long-term graft survival. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of change or modulation of an immunosuppressive regimen (IR) on graft survival during the posttransplant period in patients undergoing kidney transplantation. A total of 1164 patients who underwent kidney transplantation between January 1997 and December 2008 at Yonsei University Health System were enrolled. All patients initially received calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-based double or triple IR (DIR and TIR, respectively). The causes of IR changes or modulation were reviewed retrospectively. Graft survival rate was compared according to types of maintenance immunosuppression (DIR versus TIR). Initially, DIR and TIR were adopted in 201 (17.3%) and 963 (82.7%) recipients, respectively. In 77 DIR recipients (38.8%) and 271 TIR recipients (28.1%), IRs were changed. Among recipients of an initial DIR, the most frequent reasons for IR change were acute rejection (50%) within 6 months of transplantation and chronic allograft dysfunction (70%) after 6 months. In TIR recipients, the reasons for IR change included drug toxicity or drug-related side effects (34.3%) within 6 months of transplantation and complications related to overimmunosuppression (39.3%) after 6 months. The group in which the IR was changed from the initial DIR to the later TIR had a statistically superior graft survival rate compared to the group that did not have a change in the initial DIR (P = .032). In contrast, TIR recipients without change had better graft survival rate than recipients with initial TIR change to later DIR (P < .001). Change or modulation of immunosuppression from initial DIR to later TIR could affect long-term graft survival., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)