Combined liver-kidney transplantation: our experience

A single center experience of combined liver kidney transplantation

With advancements in the operative techniques, patient survival following liver transplantation (LTx) has increased substantially. This has led to the acceleration of pre-existing kidney disease because of immunosuppressive nephrotoxicity making additional kidney transplantation (KTx) inevitable. On the other hand, in a growing number of patients on the waiting list to receive liver, long waiting time has resulted in adverse effect of decompensated liver on the kidney function. During the last two decades, the transplant community has considered combined liver kidney transplantation (CLKTx) to overcome this problem. The aim of our study is to present an overview of our experience as well as a review of the literature in CLKTx and to discuss the controversy in this regard. All performed CLKTx (n = 22) at our institution as well as all available reported case series focusing on CLKTx are extracted. The references of the manuscripts were cross-checked to implement further articles into the review. The analyzed parameters include demographic data, indication for LTx and KTx, duration on the waiting list, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score, immunosuppressive regimen, post-transplant complications, graft and patient survival, and cause of death. From 1988 to 2009, a total of 22 CLKTx were performed at our institution. The median age of the patients at the time of CLKTx was 44.8 (range: 4.5-58.3 yr). The indications for LTx were liver cirrhosis, hyperoxaluria type 1, polycystic liver disease, primary or secondary sclerosing cholangitis, malignant hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, cystinosis, and congenital biliary fibrosis. The KTx indications were end-stage renal disease of various causes, hyperoxaluria type 1, polycystic kidney disease, and cystinosis. The mean follow-up duration for CLKTx patients were 4.6 +/- 3.5 yr (range: 0.5-12 yr). Overall, the most important encountered complications were sepsis (n = 8), liver failure leading to retransplantation (n = 4), liver rejection (n = 3), and kidney rejection (n = 1). The overall patient survival rate was 80%. Review of the literature showed that from 1984 to 2008, 3536 CLKTx cases were reported. The main indications for CLKTx were oxalosis of both organs, liver cirrhosis and chronic renal failure, polycystic liver and kidney disease, and liver cirrhosis along with hepatorenal syndrome (HRS). The most common encountered complications following CLKTx were infection, bleeding, biliary complications, retransplantation of the liver, acute hepatic artery thrombosis, and retransplantation of the kidney. From the available data regarding the need for post-operative dialysis (n = 673), a total of 175 recipients (26%) required hemodialysis. During the follow-up period, 154 episodes of liver rejection (4.3%) and 113 episodes of kidney rejection (3.2%) occurred. The cumulative 1, 2, 3, and 5 yr survival of both organs were 78.2%, 74.4%, 62.4%, and 60.9%, respectively. Additionally, the cumulative 1, 2, 3, and 5 yr patient survival were 84.9%, 52.8%, 45.4%, and 42.6%, respectively. The total number of reported deaths was 181 of 2808 cases (6.4%), from them the cause of death in 99 (55%) cases was sepsis. It can be concluded that there is still no definitive evidence of better graft and patient survival in CLKTx recipients when compared with LTx alone because of the complexity of the exact definition of irreversible kidney function in LTx candidates. Additionally, CLKTx is better to be performed earlier than isolated LTx and KTx leading to the avoidance of deterioration of clinical status, high rate of graft loss, and mortality. Shorter graft ischemia time and more effective immunosuppressive regimens can reduce the incidence of graft malfunctioning in CLKTx patients. Providing a model to reliably determine the need for CLKTx seems necessary. Such a model can be shaped based upon new and precise markers of renal function, and modification of MELD system.

Renal function after orthotopic liver transplantation is predicted by duration of pretransplantation creatinine elevation

In patients with recent onset renal insufficiency, the decision to perform combined kidney/liver transplantation (CKLT) vs. orthotopic liver transplantation alone (OLTa) can be difficult. We hypothesized that duration of renal dysfunction may correlate with creatinine elevation after liver transplantation. We retrospectively identified 69 liver transplantation patients with pretransplantation creatinine > or =1.5 mg/dL (53 OLTa, 13 CKLT). Variables analyzed were presence of hepatorenal syndrome, creatinine, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score, albumin, age, race, gender, cause of liver disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and history of ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, variceal bleeding, hepatic encephalopathy, renal replacement therapy (RRT), and transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunting. Duration of pretransplantation renal dysfunction was predictive of 6- and 12-month creatinine post-OLTa. Area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for prediction of 12-month renal insufficiency by renal dysfunction duration was 0.71; optimal duration cutoff was 3.6 weeks. We applied a multivariable model, derived from OLTa patients, to CKLT subjects with definite or possible hepatorenal syndrome. Predicted 12-month creatinine without renal transplantation was >2.0 mg/dL for each patient. CKLT patients as opposed to OLTa patients had longer duration of renal dysfunction (median, 18.1 vs. 2.7 weeks, P < 0.001), higher creatinine (median 4.0 versus 1.7 mg/dL, P < 0.001), and higher rate of pretransplantation RRT (62% vs. 7%, P < 0.001). Adjusting for baseline characteristics, CKLT patients had lower creatinine than OLTa patients at 6 months (P =0.15) and 12 months (P =0.01) after transplantation. In conclusion, duration, but not cause, of renal dysfunction predicts renal outcome in OLTa recipients. Prospective studies may use duration of renal dysfunction to help identify CKLT candidates.

Identification of patients best suited for combined liver-kidney transplantation: part II

Liver-kidney transplantation (LKT) should be reserved for those recipients with primary disease affecting both organs. However, increasing transplant list waiting times have increased the development and duration of acute renal failure before liver transplantation. Furthermore, the need for posttransplant calcineurin inhibitors can render healing from acute renal failure difficult. Because of the increasing requests for and controversy over the topic of a kidney with a liver transplant (OLT) when complete failure of the kidney is not known, the following article will review the impact of renal failure on liver transplant outcome, treatment of peri-OLT renal failure, rejection rates after LKT, survival after LKT, and information on renal histology and progression of disease into the beginnings of an algorithm for making a decision about combined LKT.

The kidney in liver transplantation

Early recognition and determination of the cause of renal failure in patients with ESLD can be difficult because of the potential interplay among various factors and the wide array of differential diagnoses. A systematic approach, however, assists clinicians to identify common and potentially reversible causes of ARF. It is crucial to distinguish patients with functional renal failure, such as HRS, from those with advanced irreversible renal disease. Isolated liver transplantation is the treatment of choice for the former, and CLKT may be a therapeutic option for the latter. Because of the ever-increasing shortage of donor organs, CLKT must be used judiciously. Kidney biopsy may resolve diagnostic dilemmas. Management of renal complications post-OLT remains a challenge for the physician caring for transplant patients. Modification of nephrotoxic immunosuppressive regimens to avoid postoperative ARF/CRI has met with variable results. Azathioprine has been used in place of cyclosporine. Therapy with polyclonal antilymphocyte preparations or anti-OKT3 monoclonal antibodies (Orthoclone) should be reserved for patients with delayed graft function and for the treatment of acute rejection. The routine use of these agents as prophylactic therapy is not recommended. Data on the impact of renal insufficiency on patient and allograft outcome are inconsistent. Nonetheless, the authors' literature review suggests that renal failure associated with sepsis and, except for patients with HRS, renal failure requiring dialysis are the most consistent features associated with a worse outcome. The need for preoperative or postoperative dialysis has no adverse effect on survival in patients with HRS. On long-term follow-up, despite a greater percentage of patients reaching ESRD in patients with HRS compared with their non-HRS counterparts, the overall outcome in patients with HRS following OLT is favorable. In patients with HRS requiring prolonged dialysis (i.e., greater than 4 weeks), however, irreversible renal failure may develop, necessitating CLKT. Ideally, timely referral of patients for OLT may avoid this complication and obviate the need for double organ transplantation.