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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Heart Lung Transplant. 2013 Apr 9;32(7):684–692. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2013.03.005

Table 1.

Characteristics of Patients on the UNOS Lung Transplantation Waiting List Before and After the Lung Allocation Score, by Racea

Pre-LAS
(n=8765)
LAS
(n=8806)
White
(n, %)
Black
(n, %)
p
value
White
(n, %)
Black
(n, %)
p
value
Characteristics (n=7883) (n=882) (n=7915) (n=891)
Age (mean, SD) 49.3 (12.6) 47.2 (9.6) <0.001 54.0 (13.0) 50.4 (10.5) <0.001
Male Sex 3973 (50.4) 294 (33.3) <0.001 4435 (56.0) 364 (40.9) <0.001
Body Mass Index,
kg/m2 (mean, SD)
24.8 (5.7) 26.8 (5.0) <0.001 25.1 (4.8) 26.2 (4.6) <0.001
Diabetes mellitus 862 (11.1) 130 (15.0) <0.001 1282 (16.6) 163 (18.7) 0.11
(n=7375) (n=816) (n=1967) (n=223)
Total serum albumin
g/dL (mean, SD)
3.97 (0.59) 3.85 (0.60) <0.001 3.96 (0.71) 3.87 (0.69) 0.06
Performance Status
(n=7281) (n=813) (n=2065) (n=231)
6-Min Walk
Distance <150 ft
629 (8.0) 83 (9.4) 0.32 255 (12.3) 27 (11.7) 0.95
(n=7406) (n=815) (n=7798) (n=876)
Poor Performance
Status, Registration
3948 (53.3) 491 (55.7) <0.001 2320 (29.3) 286 (32.1) 0.19
Blood Group (n=7883) (n=882) (n=7915) (n=891)
A 3208 (40.7) 247 (28.0) graphic file with name nihms459761t1.jpg 3354 (42.4) 230 (25.8) graphic file with name nihms459761t2.jpg
AB 288 (3.7) 41 (4.7) <0.001 293 (3.7) 37 (4.2) <0.001
B 769 (9.8) 159 (18.0) 780 (9.9) 180 (20.2)
O 3618 (45.9) 435 (49.3) 3488 (44.1) 444 (49.8)
Education Level (n=7883) (n=882) (n=7915) (n=891)
No education or
Grade School
171 (2.2) 16 (1.8) graphic file with name nihms459761t3.jpg 169 (2.1) 20 (2.2) graphic file with name nihms459761t4.jpg
High School or
Some College
4767 (60.5) 554 (62.8) 0.48 4689 (59.2) 509 (57.1) 0.19
College Degree or
Graduate Degree
1712 (21.7) 137 (15.5) 1886 (23.8) 206 (23.1)
Unknown or
Unavailable
1233 (15.6) 137 (15.5) 1171 (14.8) 156 (17.5)
Regionb (n=7883) (n=882) graphic file with name nihms459761t5.jpg (n=7915) (n=891) graphic file with name nihms459761t6.jpg
Northeast 1895 (24.0) 295 (33.5) 1767 (22.3) 268 (30.1)
Southeast 2285 (29.0) 311 (35.3) <0.001 2451 (31.0) 336 (37.7) <0.001
Midwest 2623 (33.3) 212 (24.0) 2346 (29.6) 200 (22.5)
West 1080 (13.7) 64 (7.3) 1351 (17.1) 87 (9.8)
Pre LAS
(n=8765)
LAS
(n=8806)
White Black p
value
White Black p
value
Thoracic
Diagnosis Groupc
(n=7826) (n=871) (n=7915) (n=891)
A 3795 (48.5) 433 (49.7) graphic file with name nihms459761t7.jpg 3123 (39.5) 289 (32.4) graphic file with name nihms459761t8.jpg
B 566 (7.2) 50 (5.7) <0.001 336 (4.3) 58 (6.5) <0.001
C 1211 (15.5) 22 (2.5) 1074 (13.6) 14 (1.6)
D 2254 (28.8) 366 (42.0) 3382 (42.7) 530 (59.5)
Insurance
Provider
(n=7883) (n=882) (n=7915) (n=891)
Medicare 1512 (19.2) 173 (19.6) graphic file with name nihms459761t9.jpg 2264 (28.6) 231 (25.9) graphic file with name nihms459761t10.jpg
Medicaid 567 (7.2) 109 (12.4) <0.001 515 (6.5) 123 (13.8) <0.001
Private/ Self 5432 (68.9) 538 (61.0) 4764 (60.2) 491 (55.1)
Other 372 (4.7) 62 (7.0) 372 (4.7) 46 (5.2)
Median Income
Dollars (IQR)
(n=7671)
51568
(n=860)
43888
<0.001 (n=7614)
51342
(n=870)
44259
<0.001
(23177) (22793) (22914) (20908)
Waiting Time
While Listed (Days)
(n=4364) (n=374) (n=5396) (n=554)
To Transplant
(Median, IQR)
272 (505) 288 (467) 0.09 56 (140) 61 (157) 0.12
(n=1766) (n=277) (n=878) (n=114)
To Removal for
Death/ Too Sick
(Median, IQR)
284 (563) 336 (560) 0.49 80 (253) 123 (315) 0.15
Removal Coded (n=7883) (n=882) (n=7915) (n=891)
Still waiting 139 (1.8) 14 (1.6) graphic file with name nihms459761t11.jpg 1191 (15.1) 158 (17.7) graphic file with name nihms459761t12.jpg
Transplanted 4364 (55.4) 374 (42.4) 5396 (68.2) 554 (62.2)
Too sick for
  Lung Transplant
208 (2.6) 32 (3.6) <0.001 262 (3.3) 33 (3.7) 0.008
Died 1558 (19.8) 246 (27.9) 616 (7.8) 81 (9.1)
Other 1614 (20.5) 216 (24.5) 450 (5.7) 65 (7.3)

Abbreviations: UNOS – United Network for Organ Sharing; LAS – lung allocation score.

a

Pre-LAS cohort was between January 1, 2000 and May 3, 2005, and LAS cohort was between May 4, 2005 and September 4, 2010. Based on OPTN data as of December 3, 2010.

b

Northeast includes UNOS regions 1, 2, and 9; southeast includes UNOS regions 3, 4, and 11; midwest includes UNOS regions 7, 8, and 10; and west includes UNOS regions 5 and 6.

c

Thoracic diagnostic group A includes candidates with obstructive lung diseases; group B includes candidates with pulmonary vascular disease; group C includes candidates with cystic fibrosis and immunodeficiency disorders; and group D includes candidates with restrictive lung diseases.

d

Removal code refers to patients who are removed from the waiting list for reasons such as lung transplantation, too sick for transplantation, death, or other reasons (condition improved, refused transplant, transferred to or transplanted at another center, or living donor transplant).