Dynamics of the Romanian waiting list for liver transplantation after changing organ allocation policy.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the present study was to characterize the dynamics of the Romanian waiting list (WL) for liver transplantation (LT) over two periods: 2004-2007 vs. 2008-2011.


METHODS
1,085 patients listed for LT during the time period 2004-2011 were included in our analysis.


RESULTS
Death on the WL was significantly higher before 2008 (37% vs. 26.4%, p=0.0001) and risk of dying while on WL was 60% higher. Waiting time on the WL was 75% longer and time until LT was 102% longer before 2008 compared to the second time period (p=0.0001). After 2008, 62.3% of patients were listed for LT with Child Pugh class C compared to 22.1% before 2008 (p<0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
A significant reduction of mortality has been registered on the Romanian WL for LT after 2008, despite the increased severity of liver disease in patients listed for LT.
Gastroenterology and Hepatology Center, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Bucharest, Romania; Email: drgheorghe@xnet.ro.
Liana
L
Gheorghe
Speranta
S
Iacob
Razvan
R
Iacob
Gabriela
G
Smira
Corina
C
Pietrareanu
Doina
D
Hrehoret
Vlad
V
Brasoveanu
Cristian
C
Gheorghe
Irinel
I
Popescu
D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011050:Policy Making; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012383:Romania; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014850:Waiting Lists / Q000401:mortality