Allograft biopsies in management of pancreas transplant recipients.
Pancreatic transplantation is becoming increasingly accepted as a treatment modality for Type 1 diabetes mellitus. When allograft dysfunction is noted during follow up of patients, a biopsy is an extremely useful tool to diagnose various forms of rejection, and to rule out non-immunologic causes of graft malfunction, such as donor disease, ischaemic/preservation injury, vascular thrombosis, pancreatitis, post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, technical complications and recurrence of diabetes mellitus. In addition to its role in establishing the primary diagnosis, a biopsy can grade the severity of pathology present, help determine the most appropriate therapy, and provide information relevant to graft prognosis.
Randhawa
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Division of Transplantation Pathology, Department of Pathology, C903.1 Presbyterian University Hospital, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. randhawapa@msx.UPMC.edu
D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000473:pathology*; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease; D006801:Humans; D010179:Pancreas / Q000473:pathology*; D016035:Pancreas Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D014019:Tissue Donors; D023001:Transplantation Tolerance