No abstract

It is well documented that Physician Assistants (PAs) and Nurse Practitioners (NPs), collectively known as Advanced Practice Providers (APPs), have a beneficial role beyond the field of primary care. APPs broad spectrum of knowledge make them particularly well suited for specializing in complex fields such as transplant. Variations in practice across transplant centers lead to questions regarding optimal use of APPs. Using job descriptions from transplant centers currently employing APPs, we sought to examine the critical role of transplant APPs beyond clinical care alone. In this review, we explore not only the general training of APPs and current utilization of APPs in transplant, but also safety, cost effectiveness, and comparison of APPs to other transplant providers. We aimed to highlight the importance of recruitment and retention of transplant specific trained APPs to provide continuity in transplant programs. Additionally, APPs expansion into transplant research, quality improvement, leadership, and management must be considered. We challenge transplant centers utilizing APPs to consider these important aspects when seeking ways to expand and optimize the critical role APPs provide on the transplant team.

Early hospital readmissions after kidney transplantation pose a significant financial burden and hardship for patients and health-care institutions alike. We sought to identify the risk factors associated with increased likelihood of readmission after transplantation, and examined to determine whether patient socioeconomic demographics impacted the likelihood of perioperative readmissions. We evaluated all deceased donor renal transplants performed at our institution between August 2011 and December 2015. In a cohort of 325 transplant operations that met our inclusion criteria, 117 (36%) were readmitted to the hospital within 90 days of discharge. In univariable analyses, length of stay and pretransplant disabled status were associated with increased likelihood of readmission within 90 days of transplant. When placed into multivariable models, there was a suggestion association with length of stay and disability status. Kidney donor profile index, estimated posttransplant survival, employment, race, age, and payor status were not associated with readmission. In conclusion, the factors associated with posttransplant readmission are not necessarily influenced by socioeconomic factors in our study population. The data collected in this single center study indicate that the factors associated with increased rates of readmission are likely clinical in nature.

All 24 patients in the clinical pathway group met daily goals of the implemented clinical pathway. The clinical pathway group had statistically significant decreases in postoperative length of stay, use of laboratory tests, and use of intravenous medications compared with the comparison group. The 2 groups were similar in race, sex, age, and body mass index. Surgical readmissions did not differ significantly between the 2 groups.