The long-term survival and causes of death in patients who survive at least 1 year after liver transplantation.
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to examine the long-term survival and causes of death in patients who survive the first year after liver transplantation.


METHODS
The focus of the analysis was 433 patients who survived for at least 1 year after liver transplantation between November 1, 1984, and December 31, 2001. A total of 586 liver transplants were performed in 542 patients during this time period. The overall 1-, 5-, and 10-year survivals and the 5- and 10-year survivals for those patients who lived for a year were analyzed on the basis of Kaplan-Meier survival estimates. Factors examined included diagnosis, sex, age, and retransplantation. The causes of death were also analyzed.


RESULTS
The overall 1-, 5-, and 10-year survivals were 85%, 73%, and 55%, respectively. The 5- and 10-year survivals for those patients who lived for a year were 86% and 65%, respectively. Fifty-one percent of the causes of late death were graft-related, 71% from recurrent primary disease. Cardiovascular events and de novo malignancies were responsible for 65% of the nongraft-related deaths.


CONCLUSIONS
The long-term survival in patients who survive for the first year after liver transplantation is excellent. Recurrent primary disease is responsible for the majority of graft-related deaths. Cardiovascular events and de novo malignancy cause most of the nongraft-related deaths.
Vogt
David P
DP
Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA.
Henderson
J Michael
JM
Carey
William D
WD
Barnes
David
D
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002423:Cause of Death; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000145:classification / Q000601:surgery; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000401:mortality* / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012086:Reoperation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome