Primary Graft Dysfunction (PGD) Following Lung Transplantation

Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is a form of acute lung injury that results from ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) and is the major cause of early posttransplant morbidity and mortality. Patients who survive PGD have decreased quality of life, an increased risk of chronic lung allograft dysfunction, specifically bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome, and a significantly increased risk of death. In 2017, the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation released updated consensus statements on the PGD definition, most up-to-date PGD risk factors, mechanisms of PGD development, and the state-of-the-art for PGD therapeutics. Risk factor identification has led to the development of PGD predictive algorithms, although their clinical utility remains limited. Ongoing areas of controversy and discussion include further refinements to the PGD grading scheme to account for technologic advances such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and the increased utilization of high flow nasal cannula, the use of PGD as an outcome measure in clinical trials of ex vivo lung perfusion, enhancement of predictive algorithms incorporating biochemical risk factors, and the need for development of therapies targeted at improving PGD outcomes.