The BNT162b2 vaccine is reportedly effective in preventing severe disease in more than 90% of the general population, but its efficacy in transplant recipients remains controversial. We aimed to ...determine the immune response to the BNT162b2 vaccine in kidney (KTRs) and liver transplant recipients (LTRs). In this retrospective cohort study, we included randomly 65 KTRs and 65 LTRs, who received two 30 μg doses of BNT162b2 vaccine in 3-to6-week intervals. We analyzed the anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike protein IgG antibody (anti-S1 Ab) titer, biochemical liver and renal tests, immunosuppressive drug trough level, and clinical follow up 4-6 weeks after the first dose and 4-8 weeks after the second dose. The level of protective antibodies was 57.1% in KTRs and 88.9% in LTRs after the second dose. The anti-S1 Ab response was significantly associated with sex, age, and history of COVID-19. A tacrolimus dose at vaccination but not its trough level was significantly correlated with the increase in anti-S1 Ab titer after the second vaccine dose in LTRs. Rejection episodes did not occur after vaccination. Our results showed a higher than previously reported humoral response to the BNT162b2 vaccine in KTRs and LTRs, which was dependent upon age, type of transplanted organ, and immunosuppression.
Aims and objectives
This study aimed to assess the reasons and the frequency of the use of over‐the‐counter (OTC) nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or analgesics by liver transplant ...recipients (LTR). Patient awareness of possible drug‐related side‐effects was also assessed.
Background
NSAIDs and analgesics available without prescription belong to the most commonly used class of drugs. However, use of these drugs might be complicated by toxic adverse effects (AEs). Patients at risk for AEs include the transplant recipients.
Design/methods
This was a descriptive study. An anonymous survey was carried out in 73 randomly selected LTR, who represented 10% of all LTR at our centre.
Results
There were 64% of the patients who confirmed taking NSAIDs or analgesics; 16% of these patients took these drugs at least several times a week and 10% took them daily. For 39% of patients, the only way to manage their pain were OTC NSAIDs or analgesics. As many as 36% of patients were unaware of the risks associated with the use of these drugs. Ninety per cent of LTR consider physicians the most trusted source of drugs information.
Conclusions
Our study shows that two‐thirds of LTR take OTC NSAIDs or analgesics and one‐third are unaware of the AEs associated with these drugs. Therefore, both transplant nurses and doctors should educate their patients about the use and possible AE of these drugs.
Relevance to clinical practice
Considering the high NSAIDs consumption rates, the side effects of these drugs should always be suspected. Especially in patients taking these drugs and referring to medical advisors with specific symptoms, such as: abdominal pain, anaemia, elevated serum creatinine concentration or liver enzymes activity. Awareness of the scale of the problem enables health professionals to cooperate in educating patients. Such practices may reduce uncontrolled abuse of these drugs and related health care costs.
IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common primary glomerulonephritis. The first symptoms of IgAN are erytrocyturia or hematuria, proteinuria, and decline in renal function, or any combination of the ...above. One of the promising diagnostic methods is urine proteomics.
We studied urine proteomics in patients with IgAN and age- and sex‑matched healthy controls. To minimize the risk of protein degradation, we proposed a new protocol for urine collection and preparation.
A total of 30 patients with IgAN and 30 controls were enrolled into the study. Thirty urine samples of the IgAN group were divided into 3 disease pooled samples (DPS I, II, and III) and 30 urine samples of the control group were divided into 3 control pooled samples (CPS I, II, and III). We used isoelectric focusing/liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (IEF/LC‑MS/MS) to detect all proteins larger than 10 kDa.
Using qualitative analysis, we identified 761, 951, and 956 proteins in each of the 3 IEF/LC‑MS/MS experiments. The results were combined, yielding a dataset with 1238 proteins identified by at least 2 peptides. The statistical analysis of the quantitative results revealed 18 proteins that were differently populated in the urine of IgAN patients compared with healthy controls. We found increased urinary concentrations of complement components, coagulation factors, extracellular matrix, intracellular, transmembrane, and other proteins in patients with IgAN. Some of them have never been linked to IgAN before.
We demonstrated that urine proteomics is a promising tool for diagnosing and monitoring patients with IgAN.
Excess weight is a risk factor for adverse cardiovascular events and affects patient and graft survival after renal transplantation (RT). The aim of the study was to measure the awareness of body ...mass index (BMI), overweight, and obesity, and to compare it with renal function, BMI, and obesity-related morbidities in renal transplant recipients (RTRs).
Fifty-three randomly-selected RTRs completed a survey. The survey results were correlated to BMI and serum creatinine at 3 months after RT (+3), 1 year after RT (+12), at the moment of survey (+S), and to the incidences of new-onset diabetes after transplantation (NODAT) and arterial hypertension (AH).
The time between (+3) and (+S) ranged from 1 to 20 years. The questionnaire revealed that 61.8% of patients did not use BMI to evaluate their body mass, they did not distinguish between overweight and obesity, and only 40% of RTRs obtained information about obesity from physicians. At (+3), obesity was found in 9% and overweight in 27% of RTRs in comparison to 17% and 39% at (+S), respectively (p<0.05). Serum creatinine between (+3) and (+S) increased insignificantly in all patients regardless of their BMI. NODAT was found in 9.6% of RTRs and was diagnosed exclusively in the overweight group. There were no significant correlations between BMI and NODAT or AH incidences.
BMI increases significantly after RT and is associated with higher risk of NODAT, but most RTRs are not aware of their BMI. Therefore, educational programs for this patient population should be created.
The number of transplant surgeries across the globe has markedly increased in recent decades and is associated with improvement in outcomes. Factors that could improve the organization of ...post-transplant care are sought. The aim of our study was to evaluate the changes in post-transplant care in the largest Polish transplant center from 2010 to 2014.
Analysis was performed in all transplant recipients followed up at our center. The following factors were evaluated: changes in patient inflow and outflow, changes in the number of ambulatory visits, causes of loss to follow-up of the patients, and changes in National Health Fund financing. All factors were measured in 5-year period from 2010 to 2014.
Stable year-to-year patient inflow increased by 31% in the total number of patients under follow-up within 5 years. In the same time, the total NHF spending increased by 32%, but spending per patient increased by only 11%. As a consequence, after the initial growth in the years 2010-2012, the number of ambulatory visits per patient per year tended to decline.
Our study revealed that the real challenge in long-term post-transplant care is the increasing number of patients and the increasing length of their follow-up. Potential risks related to financial expenditure discrepancy between short-term and long-term transplantation procedures were also found.
The application of ionic liquids (ILs) has grown enormously, from their use as simple solvents, catalysts, media in separation science, or electrolytes to that as task-specific, tunable molecular ...machines with appropriate properties. A thorough understanding of these properties and structure–property relationships is needed to fully exploit their potential, open new directions in IL-based research and, finally, properly implement the appropriate applications. In this work, we investigated the structure–properties relationships of a series of alkyltriethylammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide TEA-RTFSI ionic liquids in relation to their thermal behavior, structure organization, and self-diffusion coefficients in the bulk state using DSC, FT-IR, SAXS, and NMR diffusometry techniques. The phase transition temperatures were determined, indicating alkyl chain dependency. Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy studies revealed the structuration of the ionic liquids along with alkyl chain elongation. SAXS experiments clearly demonstrated the existence of polar/non-polar domains. The alkyl chain length influenced the expansion of the non-polar domains, leading to the expansion between cation heads in polar regions of the structured IL. 1H NMR self-diffusion coefficients indicated that alkyl chain elongation generally caused the lowering of the self-diffusion coefficients. Moreover, we show that the diffusion of anions and cations of ILs is similar, even though they vary in their size.
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