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Liver Transplantation Using Organ Donation After Cardiac Death: A Clinical Predictive Index for Graft Failure-Free Survival

JC Hong, H Yersiz, P Kositamongkol... - Archives of ..., 2011 - Am Med Assoc You are seeing this message because your Web browser does not support basic Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing and what you can do to make your experience on this site better. ... Add to Cite ULike Add to Connotea Add to Delicious ...

Patients Eighty-one patients underwent OLT using DCD grafts from March 1, 1994, to November 30, 2010. The mean follow-up was 2 years. Independent risk factors for graft failure after OLT were identified using Cox model and assigned risk score points. Points were summed and assigned to predictive index categories: 0 or 1 for low risk, 2 to 4 for intermediate risk, and 5 to 9 for high risk.

Results Six multivariate factors predictive for graft failure after OLT using DCD grafts included the following: for recipients, (1) diagnosis of hepatitis C virus with malignancy, non–hepatitis C virus with malignancy, or hepatitis C virus only, (2) previous OLT, and (3) body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) greater than 30; for donors, (4) hepatitis B core antibody positivity and (5) mean arterial pressure lower than 60 mm Hg for longer than 20 minutes after withdrawal of life support; and for grafts, (6) cold ischemia time longer than 6 hours. Five-year graft failure–free survival was significantly higher for the low-risk group (83%) compared with the intermediate-risk (62%) and high-risk (0%) groups (P < .001). Overall biliary complications occurred in 24 patients (29%), with ischemic cholangiopathy in 8 patients (9.9%).

Conclusions Our study showed superior long-term patient survival with liver transplantation using DCD organs in highly selected donors and recipients. We propose a practical risk stratification system highly predictive of long-term survival outcomes after OLT using DCD grafts. Application of this predictive index for transplant candidates receiving DCD liver grafts would improve patients' outcomes and optimize use of scarce resources.