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Lung transplantation is the therapeutic measure of last resort for patients with end-stage lung disease who have exhausted all other available treatments without improvement. A variety of conditions may make such surgery necessary. As of 2005, the most common reasons for lung transplantation in the United States were: [2]
Lung transplantation is an option if the ILD progresses despite therapy in appropriately selected patients with no other contraindications. [23] [24] Life expectancy after lung transplant is 5.2 years in those with idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis) and 6.7 years in those with other types of ILD. [8]
Prior to operating on the recipient, the transplant surgeon inspects the donor lung(s) for signs of damage or disease. If the lung or lungs are approved, then the recipient is connected to an IV line and various monitoring equipment, including pulse oximetry. The patient will be given general anesthesia, and a machine will breathe for them. [1]
A lung from a 16-year-old donor would first be offered to the person in the age group 12–17 with the highest lung allocation score and matching blood type in the vicinity of the transplant center. If there no suitable recipient in that age group, it would next be offered to the highest LAS-scoring candidate who is under 12 years of age.
Lung transplantation is the only therapeutic option available in severe cases. A lung transplant can improve the patient's quality of life. [30] Immunosuppressive drugs can also be considered. These are sometimes prescribed to slow the processes that lead to fibrosis. Some types of lung fibrosis respond to corticosteroids, such as prednisone. [29]
The life expectancy in some states has fallen in recent years; for example, Maine's life expectancy in 2010 was 79.1 years, and in 2018 it was 78.7 years. The Washington Post noted in November 2018 that overall life expectancy in the United States was declining although in 2018 life expectancy had a slight increase of 0.1 and bringing it to ...
This is especially true for Healthy life expectancy, the definition of which criteria may change over time, even within a country. For example, Canada is a country with a fairly high overall life expectancy at 81.63 years; however, this number decreases to 75.5 years for Indigenous people in the country. [4]
Restrictive lung diseases are a category of extrapulmonary, pleural, or parenchymal respiratory diseases that restrict lung expansion, [2] resulting in a decreased lung volume, an increased work of breathing, and inadequate ventilation and/or oxygenation. Pulmonary function test demonstrates a decrease in the forced vital capacity.