Open AccessCOVID‐19 in lung transplant recipients: an overview of the Swedish national experience
Author(s) -
Magnusson Jesper M.,
Larsson Hillevi,
Alsaleh Ahmed,
Ekelund Jan,
Karason Kristjan,
Schult Andreas,
Friman Vanda,
Felldin Marie,
Søfteland John Mackay,
Dellgren Göran,
Oltean Mihai
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
transplant international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.998
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1432-2277
pISSN - 0934-0874
DOI - 10.1111/tri.14148
Subject(s) - medicine , covid-19 , lung transplantation , betacoronavirus , intensive care medicine , lung , pneumonia , family medicine , virology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , outbreak , disease
Summary Although it is known that solid organ transplant recipients fare worse after COVID‐19 infection, data on the impact of COVID‐19 on clinical outcomes and allograft function in lung transplant (LTx) recipients are limited and based mainly on reports with short follow‐up. In this nationwide study, all LTx recipients with COVID‐19 diagnosed from 1 February 2020 to 30 April 2021 were included. The patients were followed until 1 August 2021 or death. We analysed demographics, clinical features, therapeutic management and outcomes, including lung function. Forty‐seven patients were identified: median age was 59 (10–78) years, 53.1% were male, and median follow‐up was 194 (23–509) days. COVID‐19 was asymptomatic or mild at presentation in 48.9%. Nine patients (19.1%) were vaccinated pre‐COVID infection. Two patients (4.3%) died within 28 days of testing positive, and the overall survival rate was 85.1%. The patients with asymptomatic or mild symptoms had a higher median % expected forced expiratory volume during the first second than the patients with worse symptoms ( P = 0.004). LTx recipients develop the entire spectrum of COVID‐19, and in addition to previously acknowledged risk factors, lower pre‐COVID lung function was associated with more severe disease presentation.