Pediatric Liver Transplantation: Then and Now

Imbalances of Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2 are Associated With Active Cytomegalovirus Infection in Infant Liver Transplant Recipients

BACKGROUND

Because cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is one of the most common complications following liver transplantation (LT), it is important to analyze the impact of CMV infection on the LT-associated changes in T cells polarization. This study aimed to investigate T helper (Th) and T cytotoxic (Tc) cells polarization and their correlation in infant LT recipients with active CMV infection.

METHODS

Twenty infant LT recipients with active CMV infection (the CMV group) and 20 recipients without CMV infection (the stable group) were enrolled. The percentages of Th1, Th2, Tc1, and Tc2 cells were detected by flow cytometry after intracellular staining for cytokines (IFN-γ and IL-10, respectively) in peripheral blood. The correlation between Th and Tc cells was analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient.

RESULTS

The percentages of Th1 and Tc1 cells were significantly decreased, whereas the percentages of Tc2 cells were significantly increased in CMV group compared with the stable group, along with significant reduction of Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2 ratios (P < .01). The percentages of Th1 cells were positively correlated with Tc1 cells (P < .01). A higher Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2 ratios were showed in the CMV group after antiviral therapy than those in the CMV group before therapy (P < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings show an imbalanced Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2 immunity in infant LT recipients with active CMV infection, which were involved in the pathogenesis of CMV infection.

Biliary Leak after Pediatric Liver Transplantation Treated by Percutaneous Transhepatic Biliary Drainage-A Case Series

BACKGROUND

Biliary leaks are a severe complication after pediatric liver transplantation (pLT), and successful management is challenging.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this case series was to assess the outcome of percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) in children with bile leaks following pLT. The necessity of additional percutaneous bilioma drainage and laboratory changes during therapy and follow-up was documented.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

All children who underwent PTBD for biliary leak following pLT were included in this consecutive retrospective single-center study and analyzed regarding site of leak, management of additional bilioma, treatment response, and patient and transplant survival. The courses of inflammation, cholestasis parameters, and liver enzymes were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS

Ten children underwent PTBD treatment for biliary leak after pLT. Seven patients presented with leakage at the hepaticojejunostomy, two with leakage at the choledocho-choledochostomy and one with a bile leak because of an overlooked segmental bile duct. In terms of the mean, the PTBD treatment started 40.3 ± 31.7 days after pLT. The mean duration of PTBD treatment was 109.7 ± 103.6 days. Additional percutaneous bilioma drainage was required in eight cases. Bile leak treatment was successful in all cases, and no complications occurred. The patient and transplant survival rate was 100%. CRP serum level, leukocyte count, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and total and direct bilirubin level decreased significantly during treatment with a very strong effect size. Additionally, the gamma-glutamyl transferase level showed a statistically significant reduction during follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

PTBD is a very successful strategy for bile leak therapy after pLT.

The value of 18 F-FDG PET/CT quantitative indexes in the diagnosis of nondestructive posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders after pediatric liver transplantation

BACKGROUND

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) is a serious complication after pediatric liver transplantation (pLT), which may lead to death. ¹⁸ F-FDG PET/CT is rarely considered in PTLD after pLT and lacks clear diagnostic guidelines, especially in the differential diagnosis of nondestructive PTLD. The aim of this study was to find a quantifiable ¹⁸ F-FDG PET/CT index to identify nondestructive PTLD after pLT.

METHODS

This retrospective study collected the data of patients who underwent pLT, postoperative lymph node biopsy, and ¹⁸ F-FDG PET/CT at Tianjin First Central Hospital from January 2014 to December 2021. Quantitative indexes were established using lymph node morphology and the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax).

RESULTS

A total of 83 patients met the inclusion criteria and were included in this retrospective study. To distinguish between PTLD-negative cases and nondestructive PTLD cases, according to the receiver operating characteristic curve, (the shortest diameter of the lymph node at the biopsy site [SDL]/the longest diameter of the lymph node at the biopsy site [LDL])*(SUVmax at the biopsy site [SUVmaxBio]/SUVmax of the tonsils [SUVmaxTon]) had the maximum area under the curve (0.923; 95% confidence interval: 0.834-1.000), and the cutoff value was 0.264 according to the maximum value of Youden's index. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy were 93.6%, 94.7%, 97.8%, 85.7%, and 93.9%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

(SDL/LDL)*(SUVmaxBio/SUVmaxTon) has good sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive values, and accuracy, and can be used as a good quantitative index for the diagnosis of nondestructive PTLD.

Predicting graft failure in pediatric liver transplantation based on early biomarkers using machine learning models

The early detection of graft failure in pediatric liver transplantation is crucial for appropriate intervention. Graft failure is associated with numerous perioperative risk factors. This study aimed to develop an individualized predictive model for 90-days graft failure in pediatric liver transplantation using machine learning methods. We conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study. A total of 87 liver transplantation cases performed in patients aged < 12 years at the Severance Hospital between January 2010 and September 2020 were included as data samples. Preoperative conditions of recipients and donors, intraoperative care, postoperative serial laboratory parameters, and events observed within seven days of surgery were collected as features. A least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) -based method was used for feature selection to overcome the high dimensionality and collinearity of variables. Among 146 features, four variables were selected as the resultant features, namely, preoperative hepatic encephalopathy, sodium level at the end of surgery, hepatic artery thrombosis, and total bilirubin level on postoperative day 7. These features were selected from different times and represent distinct clinical aspects. The model with logistic regression demonstrated the best prediction performance among various machine learning methods tested (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) = 0.898 and area under the precision-recall curve (AUPR) = 0.882). The risk scoring system developed based on the logistic regression model showed an AUROC of 0.910 and an AUPR of 0.830. Together, the prediction of graft failure in pediatric liver transplantation using the proposed machine learning model exhibited superior discrimination power and, therefore, can provide valuable information to clinicians for their decision making during the postoperative management of the patients.

Mental health in children with living donor liver transplantation: a propensity score-matched analysis

BACKGROUND

This study explored mental health of pediatric patients with living donor liver transplantation.

METHODS

A total of 741 children who successfully underwent living donor liver transplantation from 2009 to 2019 enrolled in this study. Participants were aged between 3 and 12 years (mean age = 5.28; SD = 2.01). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used to evaluate emotional and behavioral problems. Parents completed the 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index and reported their child's height, weight, sleep duration, parent-child interactions, home environment, physical activities, and time spent on screen exposure. Propensity score matching method was used to generate a control group from 20,934 healthy children. Univariate analysis and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to identify the correlational factors in children's mental health following a liver transplantation.

RESULTS

Compared to healthy children, patients after liver transplantation were prone to emotional problems, hyperactivity, and peer problems. Moreover, parental mental health, physical activity, and family environment were identified as factors associated with mental health of pediatric liver transplant patients.

CONCLUSION

The findings highlight the need to focus on mental health of pediatric transplant patients, increase support for parents, and strengthen positive parent-child interactions.

Anesthetic considerations for pediatric abdominal solid organ transplantation

While many pediatric patients undergo abdominal solid organ transplants every year worldwide, each is unique due to varying age, size, and comorbidities; thus, they require a careful anesthesia plan to undergo surgery safely. This article reviews the anesthetic considerations and management of patients undergoing liver and kidney transplantation. Preoperative, intraoperative, and post-operative management are discussed, including induction, access, monitoring, and maintenance. Blood transfusion is also addressed.

A Bibliometric Analysis of the Landscape of Pediatric Liver Transplantation

Background

Nowadays, pediatric liver transplantation (PLT) has become an effective strategy for treating various acute or chronic end-stage liver diseases and inherited metabolic diseases. Many experts have already concluded the current challenges and future directions of PLT. However, no detailed analysis of the publication landscape has substantiated these proposed opinions.

Methods

This study presents a bibliometric review of the articles related to PLT between 1997 and 2020. A total of 3,084 publications were analyzed mainly by CiteSpace and VOSviewer.

Results

The field of PLT has evolved gradually in the past two decades. Articles increased at an average rate of 97 articles every 4 years. University of Pittsburgh (PITT) is the most prolific institution. The three most productive regions are North America, Europe, and East Asia. Currently, interdisciplinary studies on PLT are scarce. The main goal of PLT has shifted from survival rates to long-term outcome. The quality of life, living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), immunological biomarkers, perioperative hemodynamic management, expanding the indications of PLT, etc. are parts of the emerging research fronts. In the past two decades, articles that contain potentials that may lead to transformative discoveries are scarce, and obvious deficits can be seen in the field of new therapies.

Conclusions

Long-term outcome and good quality of life represent the principal direction of work concerning PLT. Deficits in new therapies align with the shortage of intellectual milestones, which indicate possible subsequent intellectual milestones may occur as innovations in therapies such as new immunosuppression therapies or liver cell transplantation.

Pediatric liver transplantation in Australia and New Zealand: The case for a collaborative anesthetic database

BACKGROUND

Liver transplantation is conducted with strict oversight of organizational structure and clinical practice. However, specific regulations pertaining to the delivery of anesthetic services are lacking and consideration of departmental structure and mechanisms for quality control must occur at a local level. Busy centers collect and process sufficient data to guide this process but those with low case loads may not generate enough data for useful analysis. In Australia and New Zealand, pediatric liver transplants are performed at only four locations. As these operations are not equally distributed geographically or temporally there are periods of low activity at some centers. As anesthesia affects patient outcome, quality assurance activities are important in this setting.

AIMS

Provide a global overview of the structure and function of liver transplantation networks. Identify issues related to provision of pediatric anesthetic services with specific reference to Australasia. Examine anesthetic data from a single pediatric center to illustrate benefits and limitations of such activity.

METHODS

Pediatric liver transplant centers from Australia and New Zealand were surveyed to determine the organizational and logistical issues related to a liver transplant service. An audit of 15 years of liver transplants from a single center was conducted for benchmarking purposes and to identify changes in anesthetic practice over time.

RESULTS

Pediatric liver transplants performed in Queensland from January 2005 to December 2019 were reviewed. Changes in transfusion practice reflected international trends. Morbidity and mortality were comparable to international data. Important complications such as hepatic artery and portal vein thrombosis were uncommon and did not generate enough data for further analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

Combining the anesthetic liver transplant data from all sites in a single registry would expand data collection and generate broadly applicable findings. We propose the establishment of an Australasian pediatric anesthetic liver transplant database.

Health-Related Quality of Life 10 Years after Liver Transplantation: A Longitudinal Retrospective Review

As survival post-liver transplantation (LTx) improves, it becomes increasingly important to understand how long-term health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is impacted. This was a longitudinal review examining HRQOL measured by Pediatric Liver Transplant Quality of Life (PeLTQL) in children between 8-17 years who underwent LTx (1.4 [0.8–3.3] years) at least one year prior to assessment. Demographic, medical, anthropometric, and HRQOL data (self-reported and parent proxy) were retrospectively collected over four years (2014–2017) at annual LTx clinic visits. The study included 35 patients (18M, 17F) and their parents/guardians. Parent-proxy and child PeLTQL scores (total, subdomain) showed good to excellent agreement (p > 0.05) and did not change over four years (p > 0.05). Younger age (<12 years) and Caucasian ancestry were associated with higher parental and self-reported perceptions of HRQOL, respectively (future health, coping and adjustment, total scores). Parent perceived lower HRQOL in social–emotional sub-domain (p = 0.03) and the child reported lower sub-domain scores related to coping and adjustment (p = 0.04) when the child was noted to have co-morbid conditions related to mental health and neurocognitive development (25.7%). While child–parent perceptions of HRQOL in a multi-ethnic population of pediatric LTx recipients remain unchanged 10 years post-LTx, adolescents of non-Caucasian ancestry remain a population at risk for lower HRQOL.

Modified Dual Hepatic Vein Anastomosis in Pediatric Living-Donor Liver Transplantation Using Left Lateral Segment Grafts With Two Wide Orifices

Background: The anatomic variation of hepatic vein in the left lateral segment (LLS) increases the risk of outflow complication in pediatric living liver transplantation (LDLT). Here, we share a modified method for dual hepatic vein reconstruction in pediatric LDLT using LLS with two wide orifices. Methods: From Sep 2018 to Dec 2019, 434 pediatric LDLTs using LLS were performed in our center. Hepatic veins of grafts were classified into three types with emphasis on the number, size, and location of orifices at the cut surface: a single opening (type I, n = 341, 78.57%); two adjacent orifices (type II, n = 66, 15.21%); two wide orifices with orifices distances <20 mm (type IIIa, n = 15, 3.46%); and two wide orifices with orifices distances >20 mm (type IIIb, n = 12, 2.76%). Rv was defined as the ratio of diameter of V2 and V3 (refer to hepatic vein drained segments II and III). We developed a modified dual hepatic vein anastomosis to reconstruct outflow for type IIIb grafts with Rv ≤1. Briefly, the hepatic vein of segment II was anastomosed to the common stump of middle hepatic vein (MHV) and left hepatic vein (LHV), followed by unification of V3 and the longitudinal incision orifice in inferior venous cave (IVC). Results: During median follow-up of 15.6 months (7.5-22.9 months), no hepatic vein complications occurred. Conclusion: This novel modified dual hepatic vein anastomosis could serve as a feasible surgical option for type IIIb LLS grafts with Rv ≤1 in pediatric LDLT.