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COVID-19 and Lung Transplant
In our forum, pre and post-transplant patients comprise a sizable portion of our membership. Reliable and valid professional research regarding lung transplant and COVID-19 has not been readily available to the public. In my pursuit of valid information I came across an article written by Dr. Wayne M. Tsuang, MD, and Dr. Marie M. Budev, DO. I am fortunate to know both of these talented individuals. Dr. Tsuang and Dr. Budev are physicians at the Cleveland Clinic Lung Transplant Center. Dr. Tsuang was my primary pulmonologist when I was being evaluated for a lung transplant. I am currently being treated by Dr. Budev, who is also the Medical Director of the Lung Transplant Program at the Cleveland Clinic.
The title of the article is. “COVID-19 and Lung Transplant Patients” appears in the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine under the content COVID-19 Curbside Consults. COVID-19 Curbside Consults” address key questions, issues, and concerns and, hopefully, offers solutions to managing patients with COVID-19. “COVID-19 Curbside Consults” is authored by clinicians who confront this infection daily, and they plan frequent updates.” The audience is for medical professionals but is comprehensible for laypersons. There are several articles dedicated to patients with lung disease.
One of the main points stated in the article is, “transplant patients may not be at a higher risk if proper social distancing and preventative measures are employed.” The message of social distancing and taking preventative measures has been reiterated constantly throughout this pandemic to the general public. With new vaccines being approved for use, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
The article is mainly comprised of scenarios a lung transplant patient may endure if they were to test positive for COVID-19. The authors provide a detailed response for the treatment of transplant patients with COVID-19. I encourage all our members to read this article and other articles under the COVID-19 Curbside Consult content area. As a side note
I am interested to hear from our members on how many have been directly affected by COVID-19 because they or an immediate family member has tested positive?
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4 Replies
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Since the COVID vaccine is relatively new, information on it’s impact on lung transplant recipients is hard to come by. I came across an AP article this afternoon that may be of interest to our transplant members so I thought I would share a link to the article:
https://apnews.com/article/organ-transplants-coronavirus-pandemic-e6a3ad119cabf5cd8561ef23f1105448
Separately I also heard from Cleveland Clinic two weeks ago that of 55 of their IPF transplant patients that got the COVID-19 virus, 35% didn’t survive and many of the surviving patients got IPF in their transplanted lungs.
Just some information to guide your strategy for taking extra precautions.
Stay safe!
Les
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@les-viegas, thanks for sharing! You’re right, there isn’t a lot of information known about COVID and lung transplantation yet, so the more credible information we come across and can share with others the better. I appreciate you taking time to write this post.
Charlene.
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You asked about those having IPF & COVID. My husband was diagnosed with IPF about a year ago. He got COVID at the end of December, & got monoclonal antibodies. But alas, he also got Organizing Pneumonia from COVID. The lung inflammation on the CT scan was so bad that they couldn’t even see the fibrosis to see whether it’s gotten any worse. He’s taking a large dose of Prednisone, & in 3 weeks will have another CT scan. His pulmonary function tests aren’t looking good- down 10-15% compared to pre-COVID. We had been scared about him getting COVID, & had been very careful, but he still got it. He takes Esbriet, & got his first Pfizer vaccination dose about a week ago. So far, he’s not on oxygen.
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Hi @kathleenkaufman
Thank you so much for sharing your husband’s story with us, though I’m so sorry to hear he’s struggling with declining lung function post COVID. This virus is relentless. I can’t wait for the day its gone…
I will send a prayer that the high doses of prednisone are effective in combating the inflammation and that his next scan is improved. If you think of it and are comfortable, please circle back and let us know. Sounds like he did everything he could to prevent the virus, sorry it is still dealing with it. Best of luck and I hope things go well at the upcoming scan!
Char.
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