Biodegradable Airway Stent Post Lung Transplant

• Background Recurrent airway stenosis or malacia can be treated with airway stents. Conventional airway stents, for instance self-extendable metallic stent (SEMS) and silicone stent are associated with adverse events as recurrent infection or granulation tissue and can be difficult to remove because of in stent-granulation. Therefore they are used with restraint for benign airway problems. Biodegradable stents are made of polydioxanone and disintegrate after a period of time. They are thought to be well tolerated and associated with less adverse events compared to traditional airway stent and have been used as standard care for multiple years.
• Main research question

• To assess the efficacy and efficiency of biodegradable airway stent
• Compare occurrence of adverse events such as infection, dislocation, in stent granulation and difficulty of removal to conventional metallic or silicone stents.
• Asses if biodegradable stent lead to improvement of lung function.
• Assessment of the life span of biodegradable stents.
• Design (including population, confounders/outcomes) Retrospective cohort study of patients with airway stenosis or malacia treated with biodegradable airway stent from 2019 in the UMCG and Amsterdam UMC.
• Expected results

• Less adverse events, hospital admittance and need for bronchoscopic interventions compared to patients treated with conventional stents. No complications associated with removal of stents.
• Life span around 4 months

Inclusion criteria

• Patients who underwent a lung transplantation and developed airway stenosis or malacia with airway stent requirement

Exclusion criteria

• No