Double Lung Transplant Better for Younger COPD Patients

Study finds those under 60 survived longer than people who had single surgery

From U.S. News & World Report:
FRIDAY, Feb. 29 (HealthDay News) -- A double lung transplant leads to longer survival than a single lung transplant in patients younger than 60 who are in the final stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), French researchers say.

Double and single lung transplants are both recognized as treatment options for COPD, but it wasn't clear which procedure gave patients the longest survival time, according to background information in the study. Reports suggest that between 1995 and 2006, about 46 percent of lung transplants were done to treat patients with COPD.

Of the 9,883 patients in this study, 3,525 had a bilateral lung transplant (BLT), and 6,358 had a single lung transplant (SLT). All the transplants took place between 1987 and 2006.

Overall, the median survival time after BLT was 6.41 years, compared to 4.59 years after SLT. However, the researchers also found this difference was much less pronounced in patients aged 60 and older.

"Bilateral lung transplantation leads to longer survival than single lung transplantation in patients with COPD, especially those who are younger than 60 years ... Any potential survival benefit of bilateral lung transplantation for individuals with COPD must be weighed against the potential societal benefits of allocation of organs to patients with advanced lung diseases," the study authors concluded.

The study was published in this week's issue of The Lancet. Read the complete article.

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