Application of lung allocation score in Chinese lung transplant recipients

Qiaoyan LIAN; Ao CHEN; Guilin PENG; Xin XU; Bing WEI; Danxia HUANG; Jianxing HE; Chunrong JU

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the significance of US lung allocation score (LAS) in Chinese lung transplant recipients.Methods:The clinical data were analyzed for 173 lung recipients from May 2005 to March 2018. The LAS of each patient was calculated by an online LAS calculator of Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN).Results:The mean age was (56.49±12.64) years and the mean LAS (56.63±18.39)(32.79-90.70). The underlying diseases were chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, n=62), interstitial lung disease (n=85), bronchiectasis (n=11), pulmonary arterial hypertension (n=8) and others (n=7). And the value of LAS was (47.85±15.22) vs. (61.89±18.63) vs. (56.58±18.91) vs. (55.23±10.74) vs. (72.45±16.41). LAS of COPD patients was significantly lower than that of interstitial lung disease ( P<0.001). Mean LAS was the highest in endotracheal intubation or ECMO group (79.15±7.95), then non-invasive ventilation group (48.42±11.58) and lowest in oxygen inhalation group (44.11±8.81)( P<0.001). Recipients were divided into three groups of LAS <50 for low-risk, 50-75 for moderate-risk and >75 for high-risk. Survivals at 90 days and 1 year were 90.5% vs. 81.8% vs. 71.1% and 85.4% vs. 74.4% vs. 57.8% ( P=0.002). Conclusions:LAS can not only reflect the urgency of recipients waiting for lung transplantation but also predict postoperative period. LAS score should be employed for selecting suitable lung transplant recipients in China and the optimal LAS lies between 30 and 75.