From the ArcaMax Publishing, Health & Fitness Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/healthtips/s-635209-813744
NEW YORK (UPI) -- There are additional challenges for cardiopulmonary
transplant recipients and donors if they catch H1N1 flu, U.S.
researchers say.
Physicians representing the International Society for Heart & Lung
Transplantation Infectious Disease Council issued an advisory for all
programs in cardiothoracic transplantation that aggressive diagnosis
and early treatment need be paired with active preventative measures
to stem the impact of infection in the transplant population.
Since transplant recipients are treated with anti-rejection drugs, the
advisory provides clear directions for specific dosing of anti-viral
drugs and management of the background immunosuppression. Specific
guidelines for evaluation and management of post-surgical transplant
patients are also given, as well as recommendations for how and when
to administer vaccines.
On the donor side, the advisory provides guidelines for how to
evaluate and treat donors so that organs can be safely used and not
wasted. Finally, it provides specific guidelines for the healthcare
teams managing such patients.
"Nowhere is the threat of H1N1 (flu) more real than in cardiopulmonary
transplantation," Mandeep R. Mehra, editor-in-chief of the Journal of
Heart and Lung Transplantation, says in a statement.
"The ISHLT's Infectious Disease Council has developed what is
assuredly the most comprehensive and clinically relevant direction for
prevention and management of H1N1 flu in donors, recipients, care
providers and family members."
The guidelines are published online in the Journal of Heart and Lung
Transplantation.