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Impact of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease on Patients Undergoing Lung Transplantation for COVID-19: A Single Institution Retrospective Study
, Daniel Bushyhead, Edward Chan, Howard Huang, Ray Chihara, Ahmad Goodarzi, Simon Yau, Jihad Youssef, Thomas Macgillivray, Erik Suarez, Philip Chou, Gulchin ErgunAbstract
Background: Patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated respiratory failure undergoing lung transplantation is an emerging subset of transplant patients in which gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) pre- or post-transplant is not well characterized.
Methods: We retrospectively evaluated patients undergoing lung transplant for COVID-19, with attention to pre- and post-operative physiological testing for GERD.
Results: Seventeen patients were identified who had undergone lung transplant for COVID-19. No patient underwent pre-transplant GERD testing. Post-transplant, 70.5% (12/17) patients reported reflux symptoms confirmed with additional testing. Three patients underwent anti-reflux surgery (ARS) based on results of testing, and none had complications or symptom-based recurrence of reflux.
Conclusion: Our study depicts a unique cohort of patients who were unable to undergo pre-transplant testing for GERD in the setting of a global pandemic, and who were routinely assessed and managed post-transplant.
J Curr Surg. 2023;13(1):12-16
doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jcs467