Journal of Liver Transplantation最新文献

Liver transplantation (LT) is life-saving for patients with alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) and severe alcohol-associated hepatitis (SAH). In this retrospective analysis of deceased donor LT from 10/2018 to 4/2022, patients were subdivided into those with ALD with <6 months (M) or >6 M sobriety vs. non-ALD etiologies of liver disease. Patients with <6 M sobriety were further stratified into those meeting the NIAAA criteria for SAH. Of the 367 LT, ALD comprised 171(47 %) of all LT; 85(50 %) had <6 M sobriety. Comparing those with ALD with <6 M to >6 M sobriety and other non-ALD etiologies, those with <6 M were younger (mean age 46 vs. 54 and 56 years; p < .001), had higher MELD (36 vs. 26 and 23; p < .001), and on the list fewer days (14 vs. 83 and 168; p < .001) while there were no differences in gender or length of stay following LT. Of those with <6 M sobriety, 41 met the NIAAA definition of SAH: mean age 43, 42 % female, 0 % AA, mean MELD of 37, mean days of abstinence 58d prior to LT with 29 % prior ALD rehabilitation, 58 % failed steroids, and were listed for 7 days prior to LT. The 1-year survival was similar in all groups with 90 % in SAH, 93 % in <6 M, 93 % in >6 M, and 94 % in those receiving LT for all other causes. While 24 % with SAH had an alcohol slip following LT, only 4 % had a return to harmful drinking. Our single center experience shows LT for those with AUD and <6 M of sobriety and specifically SAH have excellent 1-yr survival similar to those with AUD >6 M sobriety and other etiologies with a low rate of return to harmful drinking.

Background

There is a growing interest in qualitative methodologies for understanding complexities in the lived experience of liver transplantation. Frequently, such studies explore quality of life and offer insights for integrating patient-oriented outcomes into conventional research strategies. The scope of qualitative research in liver transplantation tends to be limited, however, with respect to engagement with critical theories, leaving certain aspects of lived experience unexamined.

Methods

The authors describe the process of layering multiple modes of critical qualitative research in liver transplantation, exploring how experiences in liver transplantation are structured discursively and what aspects of recipients’ stories are not easily spoken or shared. This study pairs a critical discourse analysis of patient manuals from a Canadian liver transplant program with digital storytelling with liver transplant recipients.

Results

A homogenous narrative emerges from patient manuals that does not adequately capture the complexity of lived experience of liver transplant survivors. Digital storytelling opens new narrative possibilities by layering sensory aspects of the transplant experience, which are often difficult to articulate through words. This complicates common ideas of survivorship, who is considered a “good” patient, and the cultural scripts that transplant stories frequently engage.

Conclusion

Critical qualitative research offers opportunities for understanding structures of power embedded within biomedical transplant narratives. Layering qualitative and arts-based methodologies within a framework of co-creation can shift knowledge/power relations while also intervening through material-discursive practices to offer novel insights and opportunities for critical reflection on transplant experiences for recipients, families, and healthcare providers.

Liver donation is an altruistic act wherein donor safety takes paramount importance. Donor selection is done after a meticulous evaluation to rule out any perioperative health risk. It is not unusual to find uncorrected congenital heart disease (CHD) in adults as a part of this detailed examination. This case reports a 34-year-old male liver transplant donor, with no known comorbidities, who was incidentally detected with a large atrial septal defect (ASD). We report the successful management of this case after ASD closure with the various therapeutic options available to us. The need for ASD closure for donor hepatectomy, and the unique preoperative and intraoperative challenges are elaborated in this report as limited literature is available to guide the course of action in this context. A multidisciplinary approach can facilitate safe perioperative management and prevent the exclusion of such donors from the scanty liver donor pool.

Categories: Anesthesiology, Transplantation

Background

Portal Vein Thrombosis (PVT) is a common concern in cirrhotic patients awaiting liver transplantation (LT), with high morbidity and mortality rates. While preexisting PVT was traditionally considered a contraindication for the LT procedure, recent advances in surgical techniques have provided new possibilities for operating on these patients. This retrospective cohort study compared the surgical outcomes of adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) patients with and without preexisting PVT.

Methods

The study analyzed data from 416 liver transplant recipients and included 270 patients without PVT and 69 patients with PVT who underwent LDLT between March 2019 and March 2023. Preoperative imaging methods and intraoperative assessments were used to diagnose PVT and classify the extent of the thrombus using the Yerdel classification. Various surgical techniques were employed to remove the thrombus and establish a portal flow to the graft. Postoperatively, patients were monitored for complications and followed up regularly.

Results

There were no significant differences between the non-PVT and PVT groups regarding recipient age, gender, body mass index, primary disease leading to transplantation, Child-Pugh class, or Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score. The operative variables, including graft type, duration of surgery, and cold and warm ischemia times, were also similar between the groups. The surgical procedures varied based on the Yerdel classification grade of PVT, with most patients undergoing partial or complete thrombectomy. The mean hospital stays, intensive care unit (ICU) stay duration, and reexploration rates were comparable between the non-PVT and PVT groups. However, the incidence of portal vein thrombosis was significantly higher in the PVT group (p < 0.001). Other complications, such as portal vein stenosis and hepatic artery thrombosis, occurred in a small number of patients.

Conclusion

This retrospective cohort analysis demonstrates the feasibility of performing LDLT in patients with preexisting PVT using various surgical techniques. While the overall surgical outcomes and postoperative complications were comparable between patients with and without PVT, the incidence of portal vein thrombosis was higher in the PVT group. Further studies are needed to explore optimal management strategies for PVT in LDLT patients and improve outcomes in this population.

Background

Patients with advanced liver disease (ALD) have unique hemodynamics including high resting cardiac output and low systemic vascular resistance which may reduce the sensitivity of pharmacological myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). MPI is frequently ordered for patients with ALD if liver transplantation is being considered. Because of the limited data on effectiveness of MPI in the ALD population, we conducted this cohort study focused on cardiac outcomes after pharmacological MPI.

Methods

We conducted a cohort study comparing normal versus abnormal MPI among 454 patients with ALD between 1/1/2011 and 06/01/2021 at a single tertiarycare academic medical center. Abnormal MPI was defined as summed stress score > 2 on LVEF < 40 %. The primary outcome was to compare the frequency of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) among ALD patients with and without abnormal MPI. Secondary outcome included individual components of MACE analyzed by chi square. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and a logistic-regression model of associations with MACE were also performed.

Results

In this cohort, 58 patients were observed to have an abnormal MPI. Baseline characteristics between the groups were similar, except prior coronary disease, which was more common among the abnormal MPI group (risk ratio 2.07, 95 % confidence interval 1.30–3.30, P = 0.003). MACE was more common in the group with abnormal MPI (n = 24, 41.4 % versus normal MPI n = 104, 26.3 %, P < .001). No difference in MACE was observed when stratified by liver disease type. In the logistic regression model, diabetes mellitus, stage 3 chronic kidney disease, and summed stress score >2 were retained as being associated with MACE.

Conclusions

Our data suggest that MPI remains an effective test for identifying ALD patients at higher risk of mortality and cardiac events. Further study is needed to understand whether a strategy of routine MPI for liver transplant candidates effectively improves long term survival.

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) is a fascinating new approach to the perioperative care of liver transplantation (LT). Being an already established pathway in other surgical fields, ERAS in LT (ERALT) is moving its first steps into a complex scenario.

Material and Methods

In this study, using an Italian multicentre database dedicated to LT (Petalo Trapianto Fegato), we compared a group of patients who had a relatively short length of hospital stay (LHoS) after LT (12 days, 569 patients) vs a group that exceeded this LHoS (1017 patients). The main aim was to find a clinical rule to select patients who could afford safely and successfully an ERAS pathway. We used several machine learning techniques to find the best model to predict a short LHoS. We used logistic regression and Boruta random forest to select the most important features to be included in a prognostic score.

Results

According to our results, early after LT, an ERAS pathway might be confidently considered early after LT when the MELDNa is less than 10 or when the MELDNa is between 10 and 17 and the patient received ≤ 5 units of Packed Red Blood Cells intraoperatively (accuracy 72%, sensitivity 78%, specificity 66%, positive predictive value 78%).

Conclusion

This simple clinical rule is intended to be used as a screening tool in patient selection for centres approaching ERAS in LT focusing clinical safety and efficacy, physician confidence and patients’ satisfaction.

Background

Crigler-Najjar syndrome is an ultra-rare hereditary disorder characterized by severe jaundice and risk of neurological complications. Current treatments, such as phototherapy, have limitations, and liver transplantation is often necessary. Auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation (APOLT) is a potential treatment option. Still, its safety and efficacy in Pakistani patients with Crigler-Najjar syndrome Type I (CNS-I) have not been well established.

Methods

This retrospective study reviewed the outcomes of five pediatric patients with CNS-I who underwent APOLT at a tertiary care center in Pakistan. Patient demographics, surgical details, postoperative course, complications, and follow-up data were analyzed. The primary endpoint was the feasibility and safety of APOLT, while secondary endpoints included improvement in serum bilirubin levels, neurological symptoms, and survival rates.

Results

Among five patients diagnosed with CNS-I, APOLT was performed without intraoperative complications. During the median follow-up period of 6 months, there were no cases of relaparotomy, graft rejection, biliary complications, or portal venous thrombosis. One patient developed a portal venous stricture, but his symptoms were controlled with conservative measures. Postoperative liver function tests showed a significant improvement, with an average reduction of 90% in serum bilirubin levels. There was some improvement in neurological symptoms, and the overall patient and graft survival rate was 100%.

Conclusion

This study suggests that APOLT is a feasible and safe treatment option in patients with CNS-I. It improves liver function, bilirubin levels, and neurological symptoms. Further research with larger sample sizes is warranted to confirm these findings and evaluate the long-term outcomes of APOLT in this patient population.

Background

In contemporary transplantation research, the utilization of machine perfusion to facilitate the perfusion, preservation, evaluation, and repair of donor livers has garnered considerable attention.In an effort to comprehensively assess the clinical outcomes of liver transplantation procedures incorporating machine perfusion, a meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was undertaken.

Methods

The relevant literature was obtained from PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and other databases up until December 2022. Subsequently, the authors extracted the requisite data, conducted a meta-analysis, and arrived at a conclusion based on the findings derived from the analysis.

Results

A total of seven high-quality prospective RCTs, comprising 917 patients, were included in the analysis. Machine perfusion demonstrated significant superiority over cold storage in reducing the incidence of major postoperative complications (RR 0.55, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.73; p < 0.0001) and early allograft dysfunction (RR 0.52, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.67; p < 0.00001). Notably, postoperative aspartate aminotransferase peak, bilirubin levels, and post-reperfusion lactate were also found to decrease. However, no statistically significant differences were observed for other outcomes. Hypothermic oxygenation machine perfusion demonstrated a lower frequency of re-transplantation (RR 0.29, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.86; p = 0.03), rejection (RR 0.55, 95% CI 0.32 to 0.95; p = 0.03), and resulted in shorter hospital stays (Std, MD -0.30, 95% CI -0.52 to -0.07; p = 0.009).

Conclusions

The application of machine perfusion can yield significant improvements in the outcomes of liver transplantation.

Background

The persistent shortage of liver allografts contributes to significant waitlist mortality. Normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) has the potential to extend viability and allow liver function evaluation in discarded organs. The main aim of the study was to evaluate the possibility for extended preservation and the potential recovery of non-usable human livers utilizing NMP.

Methods

6 high-risk human liver grafts that were discarded after national allocation underwent normothermic liver preservation for an extended period of 24 h. Transmedics Organ Care System™ liver perfusion device was used to preserve a donor liver in a functioning, near physiologic state. Parameters of biochemical and synthetic liver function were collected periodically and subsequently analyzed. Liver parenchyma and bile duct biopsies were obtained pre- and 24 h post-NMP.

Results

4/6 (67%) grafts were DCDs with a median age of 54 (IQR: 42–61) years and median CIT of 262 (IQR: 209–1024) minutes. 5/6 (83%) livers produced a median of 75 ml of bile (Range 55–100) after 24 h of NMP. Lactate dropped to normal levels (<2 mmol/L) for all livers after around 4 h on NMP. The overall cellular architecture, lobular steatosis and necrosis grades were preserved after extended NMP. Biopsies showed improvement of liver parenchyma architecture with reduced inflammation for 2/6 (33%) at the end of the perfusion.

Conclusion

Prolonged NMP for discarded liver grafts can be safely maintained on NMP and may identify certain grafts that are suitable for transplantation. Further studies utilizing NMP with subsequent transplantation would validate this strategy, as well as existing viability markers.