[Long-term survival after liver transplantation for benign end-stage liver disease in adults].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the long-term survival rates of the adults with benign end-stage liver disease (BELD) after liver transplantation (LT) and the causes of death.


METHODS
The common causes of late death (after more than 1 year) after LT were retrospectively analyzed in 203 consecutive patients with BELD who underwent LT from Oct. 2003 to May.2006.


RESULTS
The 1, 2 and 3-year survival rates were 88.7%, 85.5%, and 81.2% respectively. The 2-year and 3-year survival rates of the patients with HBV-related liver disease were 88.4% and 84.5% respectively, not significantly different from those of patients with non-HBV-related liver disease (75.6% and 64.0% respectively, P = 0.144). 165 recipients survived for more than 1 year and 21 recipients died during the period between 12 and 48 months after LT with a mean of (22.7 +/- 6.6) months. The common causes of late death included related to infectious complications (4.8%, 8/165), biliary tract complications (3.6%, 6/165), HBV re-infection (1.8%, 3/165), chronic rejection (1.2%, 2/165), renal functional lesion (0.6%, 1/165), and hepatic arterial complication (0.6%1/165).


CONCLUSIONS
Satisfactory long-term survival can be achieved in most adult recipients with BELD after LT and the major causes that influence the long-term survival are infectious complications, biliary tract complications, and HBV re-infection. Prevention of these complications, rational use of immunosuppressant, and regular follow-up are essential to improve long-term survival.
Yang
Yang
Y
Liver Transplant Center, Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Transplantation Research Institute of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510630, China.
Zhang
Jian
J
Zhang
Ying-Cai
YC
Cai
Chang-Jie
CJ
Lu
Min-Qiang
MQ
Xu
Chi
C
Li
Hua
H
Wang
Gen-Shu
GS
Yi
Shu-Hong
SH
Zhang
Jun-Feng
JF
Yi
Hui-Min
HM
Jiang
Nan
N
Jiang
Hua
H
Chen
Gui-Hua
GH
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001660:Biliary Tract Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000401:mortality; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D017093:Liver Failure / Q000401:mortality*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000401:mortality*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate