Letter: clinical outcomes of patients with hepatitis D infection in the liver transplant setting

Liver Transplantation for Hepatitis D Virus in the United States: A UNOS Study on Outcomes in the MELD Era

BACKGROUND

Without available curative therapies for delta hepatitis (hepatitis delta virus [HDV]), hepatic decompensation and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among HDV patients often necessitates liver transplantation (LT). The objective of this study was to evaluate outcomes of LT among hepatitis B virus (HBV)/HDV patients in the United States.

METHODS

We performed the first US-based retrospective study of patients who underwent LT for HDV compared with HBV (monoinfection) in the years 2002-2019. We evaluated posttransplant survival and predictors of survival.

RESULTS

We identified a total of 152 HBV/HDV and 5435 HBV patients who underwent LT. HDV patients were younger at transplant (52 versus 55, P < 0.001), less commonly Asian (16% versus 36%, P < 0.001), more likely to be HCV Ab positive (42% versus 28%, P < 0.001), and less likely to be listed for LT with HCC (38% versus 51%, P = 0.001), more likely to have ascites (73% versus 64%, P = 0.019), had worse coagulopathy (mean INR 2.0 versus 1.82, P = 0.04), and were more likely to receive a HCV-positive donor organ (7% versus 3%, P = 0.001). Post-LT overall survival and graft survival were similar between HDV and HBV patients, including among patients with HCC. Older age, HCV coinfection, HCC, and higher model for end-stage liver disease at transplant were associated with higher posttransplant mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

HDV patients were sicker and more likely to be listed for LT for decompensated disease compared with HBV patients. Post-LT survival was similar between HDV and HBV patients, in contrast to prior international studies that suggested worse post-LT survival in HBV patients due to higher rates of HBV reactivation.