Clusters of alcohol use disorders diagnostic criteria and predictors of alcohol use after liver transplantation for alcoholic liver disease.
BACKGROUND
Establishing the correct alcohol use disorder diagnosis is clinically relevant because several reports of post-transplant alcohol use suggest that a pre-transplant diagnosis of alcohol dependence (rather than abuse) predicts relapse to alcohol use. Numerous combinations of specific symptoms are possible to achieve diagnostic significance.


OBJECTIVE
The authors hypothesized that there would be distinct clusters of liver transplant recipients who showed specific combinations of alcohol-related symptoms and that these clusters would be predictive of alcohol-abuse outcome after transplant.


METHODS
A group of 120 ALD liver transplant recipients received the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) module for alcohol abuse/dependence, and a cluster analysis was performed.


RESULTS
Within the clusters of those with alcohol dependence, cluster assignment did not predict those more likely to drink. However, those assigned to the alcohol abuse cluster were significantly less likely to drink than those with alcohol dependence.


CONCLUSIONS
Results therefore suggest that the prognosis regarding continued abstinence posttransplant is much more positive for individuals with a diagnosis of abuse than for those who meet criteria for alcohol dependence.
DiMartini
Andrea
A
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Starzl Transplant Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. dimartiniaf@upmc.edu
Dew
Mary Amanda
MA
Fitzgerald
Mary Grace
MG
Fontes
Paulo
P
D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008108:Liver Diseases, Alcoholic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011300:Preoperative Care; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors