The hospital transplant coordinator of the Hospital Universitario de Cáceres, Dr. Elena Gallego, has emphasized, in relation to people who suffer from or have suffered from a liver pathology, the relevance of donation in asystole, which she has referred to as a "key route to optimize the availability of organs".
For her part, the hepatologist at the Hospital Universitario de Badajoz (HUB), Dr. María Isabel Monge, has stressed the need for "the continuous follow-up and accompaniment of the patient in all phases of the transplant". Both specialists have taken part, along with other professionals, in the 'Training Days' of the Federación Española del Hígado (FEH), recently held in Badajoz.
More than 70 people with liver disease and/or liver transplant attended the meeting. This event, integrated into the 'Priorities Plan' of the Confederación Española de Personas con Discapacidad Física y Orgánica (COCEMFE) and financially supported by Fundación ONCE, has served to update medical knowledge and address in a comprehensive way everything from surgical innovation and metabolic progress to mental health, nutrition, and support for caregivers.
Likewise, the specialists have taken advantage of the forum to focus on issues such as unwanted loneliness and the transition to adult life in the context of transplantation. In this area, the head of the Preventive Medicine and Public Health Service of the HUB, Dr. Gregorio Montes, has intervened, who has detailed the immunization recommendations "to protect the solid organ transplant patient".
The medical, pediatric, and psychological aspects necessary to ensure an adequate transition of the young patient to adult care have been explained by the nurse at Hospital Universitario La Paz in Madrid, Paloma Martínez; the professor of Pediatrics at the Universidad de Extremadura, Dr. Enrique Galán; and the psychologist of the Asociación Española de Ayuda a Niños con Enfermedades Hepáticas y Trasplantados Hepáticos (HEPA), Erika Guijarro.
Promote autonomy and comprehensive care
Subsequently, the head of the Infectious Pathology Unit of the HUB, Dr. Francisco Félix Rodríguez, addressed the prevention and treatment of cytomegalovirus as an infection of great relevance in immunocompromised patients. Next, the coordinator of National Projects at FEH, Sara Román, and the Communication and Initiatives technician, Sergi Ibor, presented concrete tools to promote personal autonomy, independent living, and project management within the associative fabric.
Other speakers presented dermopharmaceutical proposals based on emollients to mitigate pruritus in cholestatic pathologies, described the surveillance guidelines and essential intensive care in the first hours after a liver transplant, highlighted the strong link between cardiovascular-renal-metabolic syndrome and the worsening of liver function, and offered a multidisciplinary approach that integrates the patient’s voice with advances in Hepatology, surgery and interventional Radiology.
Likewise, lines of work on strengthening the associative movement, digitalization, international projection and addressing unwanted loneliness have been presented. The current situation, diagnostic methods and therapeutic options for hepatitis B, C and D have also been reviewed; the emotional burden and psychological challenges of those who remain on the transplant waiting list have been made evident; and the role of trained volunteers in providing effective accompaniment in the health-care setting has been valued.
Finally, nutritional recommendations focused on the prevention and control of metabolic liver diseases have been disseminated; the action model of the 'School of Care' of the Extremadura Health Service (SES) against overweight and obesity has been explained; and both the clinical perspective and the patient’s direct experience in relation to obesity and its impact on liver health have been examined.