title: Long-term follow-up of the lung transplant patient.
abstract: Since the outcomes of lung transplants are still poorer than those obtained with others, such as heart, kidney or liver transplants, the challenge for medicine remains focused on prolonging functional graft survival. The procedure triggers significant post-surgical physiopathological changes in the lung parenchyma, the rib cage, the airways and pulmonary circulation. The patient is exposed to risks that must be identified and controlled, such as complications fully or partially attributable to immunosuppressive treatment, including cardiovascular disease, tumors and infections and, of course, chronic graft dysfunction. The patient's prognosis will depend largely on the degree of efficacy in the prevention, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of possible complications. Accordingly, regardless of how long it is since the transplantation, graft recipients undergo close functional and clinical monitoring. In this article, we will review the functional changes that characterize a lung transplant recipient and the usefulness of the various diagnostic techniques for patient follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neumología y Cirugía Torácica, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Majadahonda, Madrid, España. Electronic address: roslaporta@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Rosalía
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Laporta Hernández
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neumología y Cirugía Torácica, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Majadahonda, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: M Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Lázaro Carrasco
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neumología y Cirugía Torácica, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Majadahonda, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Varela de Ugarte
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neumología y Cirugía Torácica, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Majadahonda, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: Piedad
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ussetti Gil
mesh_terms: D001944:Breath Tests; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D016040:Lung Transplantation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000032:analysis; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D011379:Prognosis; D001261:Pulmonary Atelectasis / Q000209:etiology; D011788:Quality of Life; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D015996:Survival Rate; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D009569:Nitric Oxide
keywords: Calidad de vida; Lung transplant; Quality of life; Supervivencia; Survival; Trasplante pulmonar