Outcome of the First Successful Heart-Lung Transplantation in the Baltic Countries

Raimondas Kubilius¹, Kęstutis Malakauskas², Loreta Jankauskienė¹, Povilas Jakuška³, Ramūnas Bolys³, Evelina Pociūtė⁴, Vaidotas Boguševičius⁴, Rimantas Benetis^{3, 5}

¹Department of Cardiology, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, ²Department of Pulmonology and Immunology, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, ³Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, ⁴Faculty of Medicine, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, ⁵Institute of Cardiology, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Lithuania

Key words: heart-lung transplantation; idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension; tuberculosis infection.

Summary. Successful heart-lung complex transplantation was performed in a 48-year-old man. During the postoperative period, M. tuberculosis infection was diagnosed, and the treatment subsequently started. One year after, the patient was urgently hospitalized due to myocardial infarction. However, despite the best efforts, the patient died.

Antituberculosis treatment is recommended to all the patients with confirmed active tuberculosis. Treatment of tuberculosis in transplant recipients is similar to that of the general population, with the exclusion of rifamycins in the regimen and longer duration of treatment.

Correspondence to R. Kubilius, Department of Cardiology, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eivenių 2, 50161 Kaunas, Lithuania. E-mail: raimondas@efarmacija.lt

Received 13 June 2013, accepted 15 November 2013