Double lung transplantation is better than single lung transplantation for end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a meta-analysis

Background: Lung transplantation is one of the most common treatment options for patients with end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, the choice between single and double lung transplantation for these patients remains a matter of debate. Therefore, we performed a systematic search of medical databases for studies on single lung transplantation, double lung transplantation, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Methods: The rate ratio and hazard ratio of survival were analyzed. The meta-analysis included 15 case-control and retrospective registry studies.

Results: The rate ratios of the 3-year survival (0.937 and P = 0.041) and 5-year survival (0.775 and P = 0.000) were lower for single lung transplantation than for double lung transplantation. However, the hazard ratio did not differ significantly between the two.

Conclusions: Double lung transplantation was found to provide better benefits than single lung transplantation in terms of the long-term survival in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.