Systematic review: recurrent autoimmune liver diseases after liver transplantation

BACKGROUND

Autoimmune liver diseases (AILD) constitute the third most common indication for liver transplantation (LT) worldwide. Outcomes post LT are generally good but recurrent disease is frequently observed.

AIMS

To describe the frequency and risk factors associated with recurrent AILD post-LT and provide recommendations to reduce the incidence of recurrence based on levels of evidence.

METHODS

A systematic review was performed for full-text papers published in English-language journals, using the keywords 'autoimmune hepatitis (AIH)', 'primary biliary cholangitis and/or cirrhosis (PBC)', 'primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC)', 'liver transplantation' and 'recurrent disease'. Management strategies to reduce recurrence after LT were classified according to grade and level of evidence.

RESULTS

Survival rates post-LT are approximately 90% and 70% at 1 and 5 years and recurrent disease occurs in a range of 10-50% of patients with AILD. Recurrent AIH is associated with elevated liver enzymes and IgG before LT, lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates in the explants and lack of steroids after LT (Grade B). Tacrolimus use is associated with increased risk; use of ciclosporin and preventive ursodeoxycholic acid with reduced risk of PBC recurrence (all Grade B). Intact colon, active ulcerative colitis and early cholestasis are associated with recurrent PSC (Grade B).

CONCLUSIONS

Recommendations based on grade A level of evidence are lacking. The need for further study and management includes active immunosuppression before liver transplantation and steroid use after liver transplantation in autoimmune hepatitis; selective immunosuppression with ciclosporin and preventive ursodeoxycholic acid treatment for primary biliary cholangitis; and improved control of inflammatory bowel disease or even colectomy in primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Controlled donation after circulatory death in the Netherlands: more organs, more efforts

BACKGROUND

The Netherlands was one of the first countries in Europe to stimulate controlled donation after circulatory death (cDCD) at a national level in addition to donation after brain death (DBD). With this program the number of organ transplants increased, but it also proved to have challenges as will be shown in this 15-year review.

METHODS

Data about deceased organ donation in the Netherlands, from 2000 until 2014, were analysed taking into account the whole donation process from donor referral to the number of organs transplanted.

RESULTS

Donor referral increased by 58%, from 213 to 336 donors per year, and the number of organs transplanted rose by 42%. Meanwhile the contribution of cDCD donors increased from 14% in 2000 to 54% in 2014 among all referrals. The organs were transplanted from 92-99% of referred DBD donors, but this percentage was significantly lower for cDCD donors and also decreased from 86% in 2000-2002 to 67% in 2012-2014. In 16% of all referred cDCD donors, organs were not recovered because donors did not die within the expected two-hour time limit after withdrawal of life- upporting treatment. Furthermore, cDCD is more often performed at a higher donor age, which is associated with a lower percentage of transplanted organs.

CONCLUSION

Although cDCD resulted in more transplants, the effort in donor recruitment is considerably higher. Important challenges in cDCD that need further attention are the time limit after withdrawal of life-supporting treatment and donor age, as well as the possibilities to stimulate non-renal transplants including the heart by machine preservation.

Does Hepatitis C Treatment Adherence Affect Risk of Liver Transplantation? A Historical Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the primary cause of liver failure leading to transplantation, and medication adherence is essential to the therapeutic efficacy of HCV treatments. While there is evidence linking poor adherence with increased utilization and cost, published literature lacks examination of the association between medication adherence and risk of liver transplant. In addition, the impact of HCV treatment on total costs of liver transplantation is not well documented.

OBJECTIVES

To compare (a) the relative risk of liver transplant by adherence in patients treated for HCV and (b) the total health care costs in treated and untreated patients who require liver transplant.

METHODS

This observational, historical cohort study was conducted using administrative data from the Humana Research Database. To be included, patients were required to have a documented HCV diagnosis or treatment between January 1, 2008, and June 30, 2013. Patients were excluded if they had a hepatitis B diagnosis, were not fully insured by a commercial or Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plan, or were outside the age range of 19-89 years. No minimum pre- or post-index enrollment period was required, and patients were followed for their entire post-index enrollment through December 31, 2013. The study population was divided into treated and untreated groups and then subdivided by presence or absence of a liver transplant. Date of liver transplant was defined as the index date for untreated liver transplant patients; otherwise, the index date was defined as either the date of first observed HCV treatment or diagnosis date (if no treatment or liver transplant). Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the relative risk of liver transplant by level of treatment adherence (> 80%, 50%-79%, and < 50%) based on proportion of days covered. General linearized models with log link and gamma distribution were used to compare median total health care costs from index date until end of study period (or death/disenrollment, whichever came first) between treated and untreated liver transplant patients. All costs were converted to 2013 U.S. dollars and reported as total costs per patient and per patient per month (PPPM) to account for varying follow-up periods.

RESULTS

Of the 53,423 patients identified with HCV, 10,377 met exclusion criteria, leaving 43,046 patients (primarily Caucasian, males, mean age of 58 years) in the initial cohort. Only 6.29% (n = 2,708) of the total HCV cohort received HCV treatment, and less than 1% (n = 366, 0.8%) received a liver transplant. Although there were no significant differences in the risk of liver transplant by adherence level, there was an upwards trend in the rate of liver transplant as adherence worsened (> 80%: 1.25%; 50%-79%: 1.30%; and < 50%: 1.99%), and the average days to liver transplant was longer with higher adherence (> 80%: 683; 50%-79%: 623; < 50%: 454). Only 48 (13.11%) patients who received a liver transplant were treated for HCV. Adjusted median total and PPPM health care costs measured from index date until end of the study period were significantly higher for patients who received HCV treatment compared with those who did not (total=$231,139 vs. $86,167, adjusted P < 0.001; PPPM=$20,583 vs. $5,778, adjusted P = 0.008), driven by HCV-related medical costs and total pharmacy costs.

CONCLUSIONS

Adherence with HCV regimens did not affect risk of liver transplant, underscoring the need for further evidence linking treatment adherence to future liver transplant risk. HCV-treated patients who required liver transplant incurred significantly higher health care costs than those without HCV treatment before liver transplant. Introduction of newer all-oral direct-acting antiviral regimens, with higher acquisition costs, will require further research to more accurately assess medication adherence and its relationship with transplantation, as well as with total health care costs.

DISCLOSURES

No outside funding supported this research. Ems, Worley, Racsa, Gregory, Anderson, and Holt are employees of Humana. Brill has participated in a physician advisory board at Humana. The authors have no other financial disclosures to report. Study concept and design were contributed by Ems, Racsa, Worley, and Anderson, along with Gregory, Brill, and Holt. Racsa took the lead in data collection, along with Ems and Worley. All authors participated in data interpretation. Anderson, along with the other authors, wrote the manuscript, which was revised by Brill and Holt, with assistance from the other authors.

Coordinating Organ Transplantation in Turkey: Effects of the National Coordination Center

In January 2001, the National Coordination Center, which brought tissue and organ procurement and transplantation under the Turkish Health Ministry, was established in Turkey. The main aims of this organization are to expand cadaveric donation and increase the number of transplantable organs supplied by cadaveric donors. We compared the proportions of cadaveric organ transplantations that were performed in Turkey before and after the national coordination system was established. Of all the cadaveric transplantations completed to date, 91.6% of kidney and 71.5% of liver procedures were done before implementation of the new system, and 8.4% and 28.5%, respectively, were performed after the system was established. The data show that the frequency of cadaveric donation has increased, as well as the number of cadaveric organ transplantations performed annually. The new national transplantation coordination system is making a good start at increasing cadaveric transplantation in Turkey. This system will hopefully lead to a larger organ pool and shorter waiting lists in future.

Trends in Adult-to-Adult Living Donor Liver Transplant Organ Donation: The Johns Hopkins Experience

Adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation is an increasingly important option for 17000 patients awaiting liver transplantation in the United States. However, adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation volumes peaked in 2001 (N=518), and have gradually fallen in 2002 (N=362), 2003 (N=321), and 2004 (N=323). Recent concerns about donor safety and ethical considerations have made careful analysis of donor availability and selection criteria critically important. We conducted a retrospective review of our active liver transplant recipient registry (N=251) and compared it to our living donor registry (N=231), which included all potential living donors before the selection process. Fifteen percent of recipients accounted for the majority (53%) of donor evaluations, whereas 42% of recipients did not have even a single donor evaluation. Recipient diagnosis appears to have a significant impact on donor availability, with donors rarely evaluated for patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. Careful and stringent selection criteria rule out 67% of potential donors.

Hepatocyte transplantation program: Lessons learned and future strategies

This review aims to share the lessons we learned over time during the setting of the hepatocyte transplantation (HT) program at the Hepatic Cell Therapy Unit at Hospital La Fe in Valencia. New sources of liver tissue for hepatocyte isolation have been explored. The hepatocyte isolation and cryopreservation procedures have been optimized and quality criteria for assessment of functionality of hepatocyte preparations and suitability for HT have been established. The results indicate that: (1) Only highly viable and functional hepatocytes allow to recover those functions lacking in the native liver; (2) Organs with steatosis (≥ 40%) and from elderly donors are declined since low hepatocyte yields, viability and cell survival after cryopreservation, are obtained; (3) Neonatal hepatocytes are cryopreserved without significant loss of viability or function representing high-quality cells to improve human HT; (4) Cryopreservation has the advantage of providing hepatocytes constantly available and of allowing the quality evaluation and suitability for transplantation; and (5) Our results from 5 adults with acute liver failure and 4 from children with inborn metabolic diseases, indicate that HT could be a very useful and safe cell therapy, as long as viable and metabolically functional human hepatocytes are used.

Reduction of the ages at diagnosis and operation of biliary atresia in Taiwan: A 15-year population-based cohort study

AIM: To describe the ages at diagnosis and operation of biliary atresia (BA) and its incidence over a 15-year period in Taiwan.

METHODS: This was a population-based cohort study. BA cases were identified from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database based on the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code of BA 751.61 plus Kasai operation (ICD-9 procedure code 51.37) or liver transplantation (LT, ICD-9 procedure code 50.5). The patients’ characteristics including sex, age at diagnosis, age at receiving Kasai operation and age at receiving LT were compared among three birth cohorts: (1) 1997 to 2001; (2) 2002 to 2006; and (3) 2007 to 2011.

RESULTS: There were a total of 540 BA cases (275 females) with an incidence of 1.62 per 10000 live births. No seasonality of BA was noted. The mean ages at diagnosis of three cohorts were 57.9, 55.6 and 52.6 d. A linear regression model demonstrated a decreasing trend of the mean age at diagnosis (1.27 d per year). The proportion of BA cases that received the Kasai operation within 60 d of age increased from 76% to 81%. A total of 189 (35%) BA patients underwent LT. The mean age at LT was reduced from 3-year-old to 1-year-old. The rates of LT were 25.6% and 32.3% in patients who received the Kasai operation within 60 d or after 60 d of age, respectively. All patients who did not undergo a Kasai operation eventually required LT.

CONCLUSION: The ages at diagnosis and operation in BA cases have decreased over time. Kasai operation performed at younger age reduces the need for LT. The incidence of BA in Taiwan fluctuates, but without certain trend.

Predicting Liver Transplant Capacity Using Discrete Event Simulation

The number of liver transplants (LTs) performed in the US increased until 2006 but has since declined despite an ongoing increase in demand. This decline may be due in part to decreased donor liver quality and increasing discard of poor-quality livers. We constructed a discrete event simulation (DES) model informed by current donor characteristics to predict future LT trends through the year 2030. The data source for our model is the United Network for Organ Sharing database, which contains patient-level information on all organ transplants performed in the US. Previous analysis showed that liver discard is increasing and that discarded organs are more often from donors who are older, are obese, have diabetes, and donated after cardiac death. Given that the prevalence of these factors is increasing, the DES model quantifies the reduction in the number of LTs performed through 2030. In addition, the model estimatesthe total number of future donors needed to maintain the current volume of LTs and the effect of a hypothetical scenario of improved reperfusion technology.We also forecast the number of patients on the waiting list and compare this with the estimated number of LTs to illustrate the impact that decreased LTs will have on patients needing transplants. By altering assumptions about the future donor pool, this model can be used to develop policy interventions to prevent a further decline in this lifesaving therapy. To our knowledge, there are no similar predictive models of future LT use based on epidemiological trends.

Liver transplantation nearly normalizes brain spontaneous activity and cognitive function at 1 month: a resting-state functional MRI study

To investigate the short-term brain activity changes in cirrhotic patients with Liver transplantation (LT) using resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) with regional homogeneity (ReHo) method. Twenty-six cirrhotic patients as transplant candidates and 26 healthy controls were included in this study. The assessment was repeated for a sub-group of 12 patients 1 month after LT. ReHo values were calculated to evaluate spontaneous brain activity and whole brain voxel-wise analysis was carried to detect differences between groups. Correlation analyses were performed to explore the relationship between the change of ReHo with the change of clinical indexes pre- and post-LT. Compared to pre-LT, ReHo values increased in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), right inferior parietal lobule (IPL), right supplementary motor area (SMA), right STG and left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) in patients post-LT. Compared to controls, ReHo values of post-LT patients decreased in the right precuneus, right SMA and increased in bilateral temporal pole, left caudate, left MFG, and right STG. The changes of ReHo in the right SMA, STG and IFG were correlated with change of digit symbol test (DST) scores (P < 0.05 uncorrected). This study found that, at 1 month after LT, spontaneous brain activity of most brain regions with decreased ReHo in pre-LT was substantially improved and nearly normalized, while spontaneous brain activity of some brain regions with increased ReHo in pre-LT continuously increased. ReHo may provide information on the neural mechanisms of LT' effects on brain function.

Liver transplantation for hepatitis B virus: Decreasing indication and changing trends

AIM: To evaluate the indication and outcome of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related liver transplantation (LT) in the era of newer antiviral agents.

METHODS: We collected data on all patients who underwent transplantation at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center. These data included demographic, perioperative and long-term postoperative follow-up data including viral serological markers, HBV DNA, and repeated liver imaging. Between January 1990 and January 2012, 133 patients (106 males and 27 females) underwent LT for HBV-related cirrhosis at our center. All patients were followed up frequently during the first year following transplantation, according to our standard protocol; follow-up visits occurred every 3-6 mo thereafter. Breakthrough infection was defined as re-emergence of HBV-DNA or hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) while on treatment. Five patients transplanted prior to 1992 did not receive immediate posttransplant anti-HBV prophylaxis; all other patients were treated with HBIG and at least one nucleos(t)ide analog.

RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-three patients underwent LT for HBV and were followed for a median of 82 mo (range: 1-274). The rates of post-LT survival and HBV recurrence during the follow-up period were 89% and 11%, respectively. The following factors were associated with disease recurrence: younger age (44.3 ± 16.2 years vs 51.4 ± 9.9 years, P = 0.02), positive pretransplant hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) (60% vs 14%, P < 0.0001), detectable pretransplant HBV DNA (60% vs 27%, P = 0.03), positive posttransplant HBsAg (80% vs 4%, P < 0.0001) and positive posttransplant HBeAg (27% vs 1%, P < 0.0001). Forty-four (33%) patients had hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the first (pre-2007) group, HBV was the second leading indication for LT after hepatitis C virus infection. A total of 64 transplants were performed, including 46 (72%) for decompensated HBV cirrhosis, 12 (19%) for decompensated cirrhosis complicated by HCC and 6 (10%) for compensated cirrhosis complicated by HCC. In the second group, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis surpassed HBV as the second leading indication for LT. A total of 69 HBV related transplants were performed, including 43 (62%) for decompensated HBV cirrhosis, 7 (10%) for decompensated cirrhosis complicated by HCC and 19 (27.5%) for compensated cirrhosis complicated by HCC. There was a significant (P = 0.007) increase in the number of transplants for compensated cirrhosis complicated by HCC.

CONCLUSION: The use of potent anti-HBV agents has led to a changing trend in the indications for LT. HBV is currently the third leading indication for LT in this hyperendemic area.

Liver transplantation in Turkey: historical review and future perspectives

Since the first successful liver transplantation by Starzl et al. in 1967, liver transplantation has become the standard therapy for many liver diseases, mainly chronic liver disease. Most liver transplantations performed in Europe and North America utilize deceased donors while a considerable portion of organ requirements is supplied by living donors in Asian countries including Turkey. The actual history of solid organ transplantation in Turkey began with the pioneering work of Dr. Haberal in collaboration with Thomaz E. Starzl in 1974 in Colorado University at Denver. The first successful solid organ transplantation in Turkey was accomplished by Haberal in 1975 with a living donor renal transplantation. Subsequently, legislations no 2238 and 2594 dated 1979 and 1982, respectively, were passed, paving the way for cadaveric tissue/organ utilization and preservation in Turkey. The first deceased donor liver transplantation and the first living donor liver transplantation were performed in 1988 and 1990, respectively. There are currently 45 liver transplantation centers in Turkey. Of these, 25 are state universities, 8 are private (foundation) universities, 9 are private hospitals, and 3 are training and research hospitals belonging to the Ministry of Health. A total of 7152 liver transplantations were performed in Turkey between January 2002 and May 2014. Of these, 4848 (67.8%) used living donors and 2304 (32.2%) used deceased donors. These figures indicate that, despite widespread organ donation campaigns and media-sponsored propaganda, desired targets have not been met yet in providing deceased organ donation. Despite unsatisfactory levels attained in supplying deceased donors, both the number of annual liver transplantations and improvements in overall survival rates of organ transplanted patients continues to increase. Actually, the one-year patient survival rate after liver transplantation in 2013 was 80.5%. This rate is getting better with each passing year and believed to be close to 90% in the next few years.

The effect of the Syrian crisis on organ transplantation in Syria

The war in Syria that started in March 2011 has destroyed much of the country's infrastructure including many hospitals. The total number of kidney transplants performed in Syria in 2010 was 385 transplants before the number gradually declined to 154 transplants in 2013, a decrease of 60%. In addition, the number of operational kidney transplant centers has decreased from 8 to 4 centers. Unrelated-donor kidney transplant decreased from 70% during the years that preceded the crisis to 47% in 2013. More than 50% of physicians and surgeons involved in kidney transplant are not practicing transplant currently in their centers. Difficulties in the provision of immunosuppressive drugs for all patients in all provinces constitute a major challenge for the health authorities and transplant patients, especially patients who cannot arrange an alternate source. The project to initiate liver transplant came to a halt because foreign trainers could not visit Syria. The autologous bone marrow transplant program continued to function, but in a smaller and irregular manner. The commitment of transplant teams despite the large challenges was, and still is, extraordinary. In conclusion, all aspects of organ transplant have been affected, paralyzing new projects and negatively affecting existing programs.

Organ transplantation in Tunisia

Kidney transplants were first performed in Tunisia in 1986, and transplants soon extended to other organs including the heart, liver, and pancreas. Live-related donor and deceased-donor kidney transplants were both began in the summer of 1986. An organ procurement and transplant law was passed in March 1991, and the National Centre for Advancement of Organ Transplantation was created in 1995. The number of transplantation units has increased to 7 throughout the country, and the yearly transplant number has progressively increased to 139 in 2010, including 20% from deceased kidney donors. Despite these gains, the need continues to grow. Heart transplants began in January 1993, and Tunisia and Jordan are currently the only Arab countries where it is practiced. However, only 16 patients have received a heart transplant as of 2004, and the number of recipients has decreased in the past 10 years. Liver transplants are rare in other Arab countries, but began in Tunisia in January 1998. Over 10 years, 38 patients benefited from this procedure. After a few years of stagnation, the number of liver transplants is increasing. While all types of transplantation are needed, kidney transplantation is a priority in Tunisia. The target is to perform 400 transplants annually, which would require a long-term strategy to provide full financial coverage using the National Health Insurance Funds in both the public and private sectors.

The effect of the Syrian crisis on organ transplantation in Syria

The war in Syria that started in March 2011 has destroyed much of the country's infrastructure including many hospitals. The total number of kidney transplants performed in Syria in 2010 was 385 transplants before the number gradually declined to 154 transplants in 2013, a decrease of 60%. In addition, the number of operational kidney transplant centers has decreased from 8 to 4 centers. Unrelated-donor kidney transplant decreased from 70% during the years that preceded the crisis to 47% in 2013. More than 50% of physicians and surgeons involved in kidney transplant are not practicing transplant currently in their centers. Difficulties in the provision of immunosuppressive drugs for all patients in all provinces constitute a major challenge for the health authorities and transplant patients, especially patients who cannot arrange an alternate source. The project to initiate liver transplant came to a halt because foreign trainers could not visit Syria. The autologous bone marrow transplant program continued to function, but in a smaller and irregular manner. The commitment of transplant teams despite the large challenges was, and still is, extraordinary. In conclusion, all aspects of organ transplant have been affected, paralyzing new projects and negatively affecting existing programs.

Prevalence of germline mutations in cancer predisposition genes in patients with pancreatic cancer

BACKGROUND & AIMS

We investigated the prevalence of germline mutations in APC, ATM, BRCA1, BRCA2, CDKN2A, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PALB2, PMS2, PRSS1, STK11, and TP53 in patients with pancreatic cancer.

METHODS

The Ontario Pancreas Cancer Study enrolls consenting participants with pancreatic cancer from a province-wide electronic pathology database; 708 probands were enrolled from April 2003 through August 2012. To improve the precision of BRCA2 prevalence estimates, 290 probands were selected from 3 strata, based on family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, or neither. Germline DNA was analyzed by next-generation sequencing using a custom multiple-gene panel. Mutation prevalence estimates were calculated from the sample for the entire cohort.

RESULTS

Eleven pathogenic mutations were identified: 3 in ATM, 1 in BRCA1, 2 in BRCA2, 1 in MLH1, 2 in MSH2, 1 in MSH6, and 1 in TP53. The prevalence of mutations in all 13 genes was 3.8% (95% confidence interval, 2.1%-5.6%). Carrier status was associated significantly with breast cancer in the proband or first-degree relative (P < .01), and with colorectal cancer in the proband or first-degree relative (P < .01), but not family history of pancreatic cancer, age at diagnosis, or stage at diagnosis. Of patients with a personal or family history of breast and colorectal cancer, 10.7% (95% confidence interval, 4.4%-17.0%) and 11.1% (95% confidence interval, 3.0%-19.1%) carried pathogenic mutations, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

A small but clinically important proportion of pancreatic cancer is associated with mutations in known predisposition genes. The heterogeneity of mutations identified in this study shows the value of using a multiple-gene panel in pancreatic cancer.

Abdominal organ bioengineering: current status and future perspectives

Organ transplantation represents one of the major milestones of modern medicine and surgical practice in terms of life-years prolonged and quality of life offered for chronic patients. Each year over 100,000 donor organ transplants are performed worldwide. In spite of the rapid advancement and expansion of this niche, it has become a victim of its own success as the donor supply is far oustripped by the demand for replacement organs. Furthermore, current methods only allow for successful transplantation in the setting of life-long, aggressive immunosuppression protocols which enhances the incidence of secondary neoplasm and other associated sequelae. Against this background, recent advances in the fields of regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and cellular biology have coalesced into a promising new avenue of investigation involving the fabrication of de novo, transplantable organs using autologous cells. Donor organs are stripped of their native cellular material leaving only acellular, extracellular matrix constructs behind. These constructs can then be recellularized with a patient's own cells in order to form transplantable organs that do not require immunosuppression. Furthermore, in theory, these methods could provide a potentially inexhaustible source of organs to meet the growing need for viable transplants. In this review, we describe these methods as well as contemporary successes for various organ systems.

Current status and recent advances in liver transplant using organs donated after cardiac death

There are increasing numbers of patients on liver transplant waiting lists, and there is a continuing organ shortage crisis. Therefore, more centers and organ procurement organizations are developing protocols for donation after cardiac death. However, the effect of donation after cardiac death allografts on overall patient survival remains controversial, with some centers reporting equivalent patient posttransplant survival but many others indicating increased rates of complications, retransplant, use of resources, and death. Several potential risk factors that predict graft loss and recipient complications have been identified. To improve patient outcomes and reduce dropouts, experimental strategies that target both donors and recipients at various phases of the transplant process have focused on attenuating ischemia-reperfusion injury and have achieved encouraging results. In the present article, our goal is to provide an overview of the current status of, and recent advances in, liver transplant from donation after cardiac death, to better understand the risks and potential benefits of donation after cardiac death liver transplant.

Intraoperative fluid and pharmacologic management and the anesthesiologist's supervisory role for nontraditional technologies during liver transplantation: a survey of US academic centers

BACKGROUND

Volume resuscitation and use of vasoactive medications during liver transplantation has not been systematically assessed. Furthermore, the anesthesiologist's role for intraoperative oversight of technologies such as renal replacement therapy and procedures such as venovenous bypass is poorly defined, and it is unclear if the center's annual transplant frequency affects these practices.

METHODS

We conducted a database analysis of the Liver Transplant Anesthesia Consortium survey 202 that addresses these questions. Data from US academic liver transplant anesthesia programs meeting inclusion criteria were included. Results were categorized by their annual transplant volume.

RESULTS

A representative sample of 66% of all eligible centers contributed to the results. Normal saline among crystalloids and albumin among colloids were the most frequently chosen maintenance and non-blood product volume expansion fluids, with little variation by center size. A large variety of vasoactive agents is routinely utilized across programs, with vasopressors as a cornerstone of hemodynamic support. Large programs seem to use less of these agents compared with lower volume centers.

CONCLUSION

Anesthesiologists are increasingly involved in oversight and management of intraoperative renal replacement therapies, venovenous bypass and cell saver devices with rising transplant frequency. This new insight may be indicative of skill sets needed by members of liver transplantation anesthesia teams and should be considered in curriculum design for hepatobiliary transplant anesthesia fellowships.