Biomedical subjects

G J Berry

Publications and source records attributed to G J Berry.

93 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Graft coronary disease in pediatric heart and combined heart-lung transplant recipients: a study of fifteen cases.

Graft coronary disease (GCD) has emerged as the most important deterrent to long-term survival in adult heart transplant recipients. The incidence, natural history, and pathobiology of GCD is less well understood in the pediatric transplant population. This study evaluated the histopathologic and immunohistochemical features of GCD in the Stanford pediatric heart and heart-lung group. Eighty-eight patients, ages 1 week to 18 years, received heart transplants between 1974 and 1992, and 15 patients, ages 1 month to 18 years received heart-lung transplants between 1981 and 1992 at Stanford University Hospital. There were 50 males and 38 females in the heart transplant group; 39 (11%) had idiopathic cardiomyopathy, 26 (30%) had congenital heart disease, 13 (15%) had viral cardiomyopathy, seven (8%) had familial cardiomyopathy, two (2%) had cardiomyopathy resulting from doxorubicin therapy, and one other case was not further delineated. In the heart-lung transplant group, there were eight males and seven females; pretransplantation diagnoses included nine (60%) with congenital heart disease and Eisenmenger's physiology, three (20%) with primary pulmonary hypertension, and one (7%) each with cystic fibrosis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and congenital lymphangiectasia. Fifteen (17%) of the heart transplant recipients and three (20%) of the heart-lung transplant recipients had GCD on angiographic or pathologic examination. Histopathologic samples were available on 14 cases (11 heart transplants and three heart-lung transplants).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The diagnosis of obliterative bronchiolitis after heart-lung and lung transplantation: low yield of transbronchial lung biopsy.

Obliterative bronchiolitis is the most significant long-term complication of lung and heart-lung transplantation characterized by the rapid development of obstructive airway disease. It is thought to be a manifestation of chronic rejection and has been treated, with limited success, with augmentation of immunosuppression. Early detection of obliterative bronchiolitis and prompt initiation of therapy may result in an improved outcome. The role of transbronchial biopsy has been reported in the diagnosis of acute rejection and infection but not for obliterative bronchiolitis. To study this problem we retrospectively reviewed the transbronchial biopsy results of patients with advanced clinical obliterative bronchiolitis, as defined physiologically. Between January 1, 1988, and December 31, 1991, 46 "sets" of adequate transbronchial biopsy specimens were obtained from 16 patients (15 heart-lung recipients and one double lung recipient). Seven sets of transbronchial biopsy specimens (15.2%) showed obliterative bronchiolitis by pathologic study. In four patients with severe clinical obliterative bronchiolitis, only one transbronchial biopsy specimen of seven (14.3%) showed obliterative bronchiolitis. The pathologic diagnosis of obliterative bronchiolitis was confirmed in three of these patients at the time of autopsy or retransplantation. Twelve patients were still alive at the end of the study period, and all experienced further deterioration of lung function typical for obliterative bronchiolitis. We conclude that the sensitivity of transbronchial biopsy for obliterative bronchiolitis is poor. Possible explanations for these results are explored.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The role of transbronchial biopsies in the management of lung transplant recipients.

We examined the utility of the transbronchial biopsy in the management of 53 lung transplant patients. One hundred thirty-three protocol biopsies were performed to ascertain the frequency and nature of abnormalities in clinically stable or asymptomatic patients; 128 diagnostic biopsies were performed in clinically ill patients to assess the morphologic abnormalities before the institution of therapy, and 105 biopsies were performed to assess the response to therapy. Histologic evidence of acute rejection was found in 24% of the protocol biopsies, and infection was found in 17%. Twenty-five patients with grade 1 or grade 2 perivascular infiltrates in protocol biopsies did not receive antirejection therapy. Follow-up biopsy in these patients showed spontaneous resolution of the infiltrates in 19% and increased infiltrates in 6. Only two of these patients became clinically ill, representing "progression" to clinical rejection in only 8% of the nontreated patients. Forty percent of the biopsies performed to rule out acute rejection or infection had histologic features of acute rejection, and another 23% had features of infection. Treatment of patients with clinical and histologic evidence of rejection was associated with rapid resolution of clinical symptoms in nearly 90% of the patients, but follow-up biopsies showed residual infiltrates compatible with ongoing or resolving rejection in 52%. Despite repeat antirejection therapy in some patients, these infiltrates persisted for an average of 30 days after the diagnostic biopsy. Follow-up biopsies also showed asymptomatic infection, usually cytomegalovirus pneumonitis, which often persisted for weeks despite the lack of symptoms. Perivascular infiltrates compatible with acute rejection were also found in 38% of biopsy specimens with evidence of infection. These perivascular infiltrates resolved with antibiotic treatment alone in nearly 50% of the patients with these features. Although perivascular mononuclear cell infiltrates are the cardinal histologic feature of acute rejection, similar infiltrates occur in patients who apparently have infection alone and other patients who have both infection and rejection; infiltrates compatible with minimal, mild, and moderate acute rejection also occur in clinically asymptomatic patients. These histologic findings are a challenge to both the pathologists' and the clinicians' skills in the management of the lung transplant patient.

Biopsy, Needle↗