BACKGROUND/AIMS: Though emergency liver transplantation (ELT) is an established treatment for severe acute liver failure (ALF), outcomes are inferior to elective surgery. Despite prioritization, many patients deteriorate, becoming unsuitable for ELT. METHODS: We examined a single-centre experience of 310 adult patients with ALF registered for ELT over a 10-year period to determine factors associated with failure to transplant, and in those patients undergoing ELT, those associated with 90-day mortality. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-two (43%) patients had ALF resulting from paracetamol and 178 (57%) from non-paracetamol causes. Seventy-four patients (24%) did not undergo surgery; 92% of these died. Failure to transplant was more likely in patients requiring vasopressors at listing (hazard ratio 1.9 (95% CI 1.1-3.6)) paracetamol aetiology (2.5 (1.4-4.6)) but less likely in blood group A (0.5 (0.3-0.9)). Post-ELT survival at 90-days and one-year increased from 66% and 63% in 1994-1999 to 81% and 79% in 2000-2004 (p<0.01). Four variables were associated with post-ELT mortality; age >45 years (3 (1.7-5.3)), vasopressor requirement (2.2 (1.3-3.8), transplantation before 2000 (1.9 (1.1-3.3)) and use of high-risk grafts (2.3 (1.3-4.2). CONCLUSIONS: The data indicate improved outcomes in the later era, despite higher level patient dependency and greater use of high-risk grafts, through improved graft/recipient matching.
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Though emergency liver transplantation (ELT) is an established treatment for severe acute liver failure (ALF), outcomes are inferior to elective surgery. Despite prioritization, many patients deteriorate, becoming unsuitable for ELT. METHODS: We examined a single-centre experience of 310 adult patients with ALF registered for ELT over a 10-year period to determine factors associated with failure to transplant, and in those patients undergoing ELT, those associated with 90-day mortality. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-two (43%) patients had ALF resulting from paracetamol and 178 (57%) from non-paracetamol causes. Seventy-four patients (24%) did not undergo surgery; 92% of these died. Failure to transplant was more likely in patients requiring vasopressors at listing (hazard ratio 1.9 (95% CI 1.1-3.6)) paracetamol aetiology (2.5 (1.4-4.6)) but less likely in blood group A (0.5 (0.3-0.9)). Post-ELT survival at 90-days and one-year increased from 66% and 63% in 1994-1999 to 81% and 79% in 2000-2004 (p<0.01). Four variables were associated with post-ELT mortality; age >45 years (3 (1.7-5.3)), vasopressor requirement (2.2 (1.3-3.8), transplantation before 2000 (1.9 (1.1-3.3)) and use of high-risk grafts (2.3 (1.3-4.2). CONCLUSIONS: The data indicate improved outcomes in the later era, despite higher level patient dependency and greater use of high-risk grafts, through improved graft/recipient matching.
Authors: Frank V Schiødt; Raymond T Chung; Michael L Schilsky; J Eileen Hay; Erik Christensen; William M Lee Journal: Liver Transpl Date: 2009-11 Impact factor: 5.799
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Authors: Ravi Marudanayagam; Vivekanandan Shanmugam; Bridget Gunson; Darius F Mirza; David Mayer; John Buckels; Simon R Bramhall Journal: HPB (Oxford) Date: 2009-08 Impact factor: 3.647
Authors: Robert J Fontana; Caitlyn Ellerbe; Valerie E Durkalski; Amol Rangnekar; Rajender K Reddy; Todd Stravitz; Brendan McGuire; Timothy Davern; Adrian Reuben; Iris Liou; Oren Fix; Daniel R Ganger; Raymond T Chung; Mike Schilsky; Steven Han; Linda S Hynan; Corron Sanders; William M Lee Journal: Liver Int Date: 2014-07-28 Impact factor: 5.828