Findings compared with both the pre-November 2017 and post-November 2017 eras<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n
MONDAY, May 19, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Wait-list outcomes for lung transplants have substantially improved in the composite allocation score (CAS) era, according to a study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2025 International Conference, held from May 18 to 21 in San Francisco.<\/p>\n
Mary Raddawi, M.D., from the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study using the United Network for Organ Sharing registry to evaluate the impact of transplant era on wait-list outcomes (composite outcome of death or delisting for deterioration and transplantation). The three cohorts evaluated were the pre-November 2017 era, the post-November 2017 era (November 2017 to March 2023), and the CAS era (March 2023 to March 2024).<\/p>\n
The researchers found that in the pre-November 2017 era, 11.2 percent of patients on the wait list died\/delisted versus 8.4 percent in the post-November 2017 era and 4.1 percent in the CAS era. In patients with the top 5 percent of wait-list urgency (WLU) scores at listing, 34.5 percent of patients died\/delisted in the pre-November 2017 era versus 22.2 percent in the post-November 2017 era and 6.5 percent in the CAS era. The pre- and post-November 2017 eras were associated with 3.3-fold and 2.1-fold higher risks for death\/delisting, respectively, versus the CAS era. The pre- and post-November 2017 eras were associated with 8.0-fold and 4.8-fold higher risks for death\/delisting, respectively, for patients in the top 5 percent of WLU at listing compared with the CAS era. Compared with the CAS era, patients on a high-flow nasal-cannula at listing also had a much greater increased risk for death\/delisting in the prior eras (7.7-fold and 5.3-fold higher, respectively).<\/p>\n
“We always want to make sure that any time we make a change to the allocation system that we’re improving outcomes, especially for our sickest patients,” Raddawi said in a statement. “This provides confirmation that we’re on the right track.”<\/p>\n