title: Outcomes in hepatitis C virus-infected recipients of living donor vs. deceased donor liver transplantation.
abstract: In this retrospective study of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected transplant recipients in the 9-center Adult to Adult Living Donor Liver Transplantation Cohort Study, graft and patient survival and the development of advanced fibrosis were compared among 181 living donor liver transplant (LDLT) recipients and 94 deceased donor liver transplant (DDLT) recipients. Overall 3-year graft and patient survival were 68% and 74% in LDLT, and 80% and 82% in DDLT, respectively. Graft survival, but not patient survival, was significantly lower for LDLT compared to DDLT (P = 0.04 and P = 0.20, respectively). Further analyses demonstrated lower graft and patient survival among the first 20 LDLT cases at each center (LDLT <or=20) compared to later cases (LDLT > 20; P = 0.002 and P = 0.002, respectively) and DDLT recipients (P < 0.001 and P = 0.008, respectively). Graft and patient survival in LDLT >20 and DDLT were not significantly different (P = 0.66 and P = 0.74, respectively). Overall, 3-year graft survival for DDLT, LDLT >20, and LDLT <or=20 were 80%, 79% and 55%, with similar results conditional on survival to 90 days (84%, 87% and 68%, respectively). Predictors of graft loss beyond 90 days included LDLT <or=20 vs. DDLT (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.1, P = 0.04), pretransplant hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (HR = 2.21, P = 0.03) and model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) at transplantation (HR = 1.24, P = 0.04). In conclusion, 3-year graft and patient survival in HCV-infected recipients of DDLT and LDLT >20 were not significantly different. Important predictors of graft loss in HCV-infected patients were limited LDLT experience, pretransplant HCC, and higher MELD at transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Norah A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Terrault
authors.forename: Mitchell L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Shiffman
authors.forename: Anna S F
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Lok
authors.forename: Sammy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saab
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Gregory T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Everson
authors.forename: K Rajender
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.forename: Jeffrey H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Fair
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Kulik
authors.forename: Timothy L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Pruett
authors.forename: Leonard B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Seeff
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006085:Graft Survival; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000378:metabolism*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D017093:Liver Failure / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D019520:Living Donors; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome