Diagnosis, Treatment, and Management of Orthotopic Liver Transplant Candidates With Portopulmonary Hypertension

Echocardiographic Screening of Liver Transplant Candidates-Prevalence of Features of Portopulmonary Hypertension

Background: The prevalence of portopulmonary hypertension (PoPH) is relatively low; however, its presence significantly worsens patients' prognosis. When diagnosed, PoPH can be effectively treated, and specific therapies can lead to a substantial reduction in pulmonary circulation pressure, facilitating the safe performance of liver transplantation. Echocardiography is recommended as a first-line method for the non-invasive diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension and serves as a valuable screening tool for patients being evaluated for liver transplantation (LT). The objective of this study was to thoroughly assess the occurrence of echocardiographic signs indicative of pulmonary hypertension and hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) in candidates for LT. We assumed that our analysis also made it possible to assess how frequently these candidates require further invasive diagnostics for pulmonary hypertension at specialized centers and how often they may need targeted treatment for pulmonary arterioles as a bridge to transplantation, which could improve patient outcomes. Additionally, this study included a comprehensive review of the current literature. Methods: All LT candidates underwent standardized transthoracic echocardiography and contrast evaluation to identify intrapulmonary vascular shunts. Results: A total of 152 liver transplantation candidates (67 women, mean age 50.6 years) were included in the analysis. The estimated echocardiographic probability of pulmonary hypertension was classified as high in only one patient. However, 63 patients exhibited the visualization of microbubbles in the left heart chambers after an average of six cardiac cycles (ranging from three to nine cycles) following their appearance in the right heart. Conclusions: Our analysis shows that the features of PoPH and a high probability of PH were very rare in the LT candidates, and echocardiographic signs suggestive of hepatopulmonary syndrome were more prevalent. Liver transplant candidates need screening for PoPH and HPS, as both PoPH and HPS significantly worsen their prognosis, but specific PH treatment as a bridge to transplantation improves PoPH patients' survival.

Cardiovascular disease assessment and management in liver transplantation

The prevalence and mortality related to end-stage liver disease (ESLD) continue to rise globally. Liver transplant (LT) recipients continue to be older and have inherently more comorbidities. Among these, cardiac disease is one of the three main causes of morbidity and mortality after LT. Several reasons exist including the high prevalence of associated risk factors, which can also be attributed to the rise in the proportion of patients undergoing LT for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Additionally, as people age, the prevalence of now treatable cardiac conditions, including coronary artery disease (CAD), cardiomyopathies, significant valvular heart disease, pulmonary hypertension, and arrhythmias rises, making the need to treat these conditions critical to optimize outcomes. There is an emerging body of literature regarding CAD screening in patients with ESLD, however, there is a paucity of strong evidence to support the guidance regarding the management of cardiac conditions in the pre-LT and perioperative settings. This has resulted in significant variations in assessment strategies and clinical management of cardiac disease in LT candidates between transplant centres, which impacts LT candidacy based on a transplant centre's risk tolerance and comfort level for caring for patients with concomitant cardiac disease. Performing a comprehensive assessment and understanding the potential approaches to the management of ESLD patients with cardiac conditions may increase the acceptance of patients, who appear too complex, but rather require extra evaluation and may be reasonable candidates for LT. The unique physiology of ESLD can profoundly influence preoperative assessment, perioperative management, and outcomes associated with underlying cardiac pathology, and requires a thoughtful multidisciplinary approach. The strategies proposed in this manuscript attempt to review the latest expert experience and opinions and provide guidance to practicing clinicians who assess and treat patients being considered for LT. These topics also highlight the gaps that exist in the comprehensive care of LT patients and the need for future investigations in this field.

Portopulmonary hypertension: peculiarities of diagnosis and treatment

Portopulmonary hypertension is defined as the development of pulmonary hypertension secondary to portal one. Its exact prevalence is difficult to determine due to the lack of routine screening in patients with portal hypertension. Hemodynamic changes associated with portal hypertension, including the hyperdynamic state, portosystemic shunts, and splanchnic vasodilation, cause significant disturbances in the pulmonary vasculature and play a key role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Without treatment, portopulmonary hypertension leads to progressive right ventricular failure with a poor prognosis. Although Doppler echocardiography is the best initial screening tool for symptomatic patients and candidates for liver transplant, right heart catheterization remains the gold standard for disease diagnosis. Treatment of patients with portopulmonary hypertension is aimed at improving cardiac function, reducing pulmonary vascular resistance, and optimizing functional capacity. Pulmonary hypertension-specific therapy, which includes prostacyclin and its receptor agonists, endothelin receptor antagonists, phosphodiesterase inhibitors, and guanylate cyclase stimulators, plays a key role in the treatment of patients with portopulmonary hypertension. Small uncontrolled and recent single randomized controlled trials have reported promising results of vasodilator therapy in terms of clinical and hemodynamic improvement in patients, allowing certain patients to undergo liver transplantation. This review discusses the epidemiology, approach to diagnosis and treatment of patients with portopulmonary hypertension. We used MEDLINE database on the PubMed platform and the Cochrane library to search for literature sources using the keywords: portopulmonary hypertension, portal hypertension, pulmonary hypertension, liver cirrhosis, pulmonary complications.

Hemodynamic monitoring in liver transplantation 'the hemodynamic system'

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive review of hemodynamic monitoring in liver transplantation.

RECENT FINDINGS

Radial arterial blood pressure monitoring underestimates the aortic root arterial blood pressure and causes excessive vasopressor and worse outcomes. Brachial and femoral artery monitoring is well tolerated and should be considered in critically ill patients expected to be on high dose pressors. The pulmonary artery catheter is the gold standard of hemodynamic monitoring and is still widely used in liver transplantation; however, it is a highly invasive monitor with potential for serious complications and most of its data can be obtained by other less invasive monitors. Rescue transesophageal echocardiography relies on few simple views and should be available as a standby to manage sudden hemodynamic instability. Risk of esophageal bleeding from transesophageal echocardiography in liver transplantation is the same as in other patient populations. The arterial pulse waveform analysis based cardiac output devices are minimally invasive and have the advantage of real-time beat to beat monitoring of cardiac output. No hemodynamic monitor can improve clinical outcomes unless integrated into a goal-directed hemodynamic therapy. The hemodynamic monitoring technique should be tailored to the patient's medical status, surgical technique, and the anesthesiologist's level of expertise.

SUMMARY

The current article provides a review of the current hemodynamic monitoring systems and their integration in goal-directed hemodynamic therapy.

LTSI Consensus Guidelines: Preoperative Pulmonary Evaluation in Adult Liver Transplant Recipients

The relationship between chronic liver disease and respiratory symptoms and hypoxia is well recognized. Over the last century, three pulmonary complications specific to chronic liver disease (CLD) have been characterized: hepatopulmonary syndrome, portopulmonary hypertension, and hepatic hydrothorax. Apart from that coexisting pulmonary disease like chronic obstructive lung disease and interstitial lung disease also complicate the outcomes after liver transplantation (LT). Assessment for evaluation of underlying pulmonary disorders is essential to improve outcomes in patients with CLD, posted for LT. This consensus guideline of the Liver Transplant Society of India (LTSI) provides a comprehensive review of pulmonary issues in CLD, related and unrelated to underlying liver disease and gives recommendations for pulmonary screening in specific clinical scenarios in adults with chronic liver disease planned for LT. This document also aims to standardize the strategies for preoperative evaluation of these pulmonary issues in this subset of patients. Proposed recommendations were based on selected single case reports, small series, registries, databases, and expert opinion. The paucity of randomized, controlled trials in either of these disorders was noted. Additionally, this review will highlight the lacunae in our current evaluation strategy, challenges faced, and will provide direction to potentially useful futuristic preoperative evaluation strategies.

Esophageal and stomach varices: physiological and anatomical features of formation

Esophageal and stomach varices: physiological and anatomical features of formation

Liver Transplant Outcomes in Patients With Postcapillary Pulmonary Hypertension

Postcapillary pulmonary hypertension (PH) can be seen in cirrhosis. Research and treatment goals exist for patients with portopulmonary hypertension but not for postcapillary PH. The aim of this study was to investigate outcomes after liver transplant (LT) for patients with postcapillary PH.

Portopulmonary Hypertension: A Review of the Current Literature

Portopulmonary hypertension is defined as the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension in the setting of portal hypertension with or without liver cirrhosis. Portal hypertension-associated haemodynamic changes, including hyperdynamic state, portosystemic shunts and splanchnic vasodilation, induce significant alterations in pulmonary vascular bed and play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of the disease. If left untreated, portopulmonary hypertension results in progressive right heart failure, with a poor prognosis. Although Doppler echocardiography is the best initial screening tool for symptomatic patients and liver transplantation candidates, right heart catheterisation remains the gold standard for the diagnosis of the disease. Severe portopulmonary hypertension exerts a prohibitive risk to liver transplantation by conferring an elevated perioperative mortality risk. It is important for haemodynamic parameters to correspond with non-severe portopulmonary hypertension before patients can proceed with the liver transplantation. Small uncontrolled studies and a recent randomised controlled trial have reported promising results with vasodilatory therapies in clinical and haemodynamic improvement of patients, allowing a proportion of patients to undergo liver transplantation. In this review, the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnostic approach and management of portopulmonary hypertension are discussed. We also highlight fields of ongoing investigation pertinent to risk stratification and optimal patient selection to maximise long-term benefit from currently available treatments.

Portopulmonary hypertension: a patient with shortness of breath

Portopulmonary hypertension (PoPH) is a poorly understood complication of liver disease which affects about 10% of patients with pulmonary hypertension. This case report outlines the difficulties in diagnosing and managing a patient with advanced disease, and the impact of these delays on the patient.PoPH has a significant risk of mortality with a 2-year survival rate of 67%. There are also few treatment options available and those which do exist are associated with multiple contraindications and risks. Patients with PoPH commonly present with dyspnoea, pulmonary hypertension and portal hypertension. The presence of coexisting chronic liver disease is also sometimes present. Traditional management for heart failure can temporarily alleviate symptoms but there is no proven long-term benefit. As a result, an understanding of the pathophysiology, diagnostics and management is crucial to ensure the best possible patient outcomes.

Portopulmonary hypertension: Current developments and future perspectives

Portopulmonary hypertension (POPH) is a severe pulmonary vascular disease secondary to portal hypertension and a subset of Group 1 pulmonary hypertension (PH). The pathological changes of POPH are indistinguishable from other PH phenotypes, including endothelial dysfunction, pulmonary vasoconstriction, and vascular remodeling. These changes cause a progressive increase in pulmonary vascular resistance and afterload of the right ventricle, eventually leading to severe right heart failure. The prognosis of POPH is extremely poor among untreated patients. POPH is associated with a high risk of death after liver transplantation (LT), and severe POPH is considered an absolute contraindication for LT. However, pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)-targeted therapies are administered to patients with POPH, and aggressive drug treatment significantly optimizes pulmonary hemodynamics and reduces the risk of death. Therefore, early diagnosis, aggressive PAH-targeted therapies, and proper selection of liver transplant candidates are vital to reduce the risk of surgery and improve clinical outcomes. This article aims to review the results of previous studies and describe biological mechanisms, epidemiology, potential risk factors, and diagnostic approaches of POPH. Moreover, we introduce recent therapeutic interventions for the early diagnosis of POPH and efficient clinical management decisions.

Relationship of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction

Although there is an established bidirectional relationship between heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and liver disease, the association between heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and liver diseases, such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), has not been well explored. In this paper, the authors provide an in-depth review of the relationship between HFpEF and NAFLD and propose 3 NAFLD-related HFpEF phenotypes (obstructive HFpEF, metabolic HFpEF, and advanced liver fibrosis HFpEF). The authors also discuss diagnostic challenges related to the concurrent presence of NAFLD and HFpEF and offer several treatment options for NAFLD-related HFpEF phenotypes. The authors propose that NAFLD-related HFpEF should be recognized as a distinct HFpEF phenotype.

Effects of sildenafil on right ventricle remodelling in Portopulmonary hypertension

Portopulmonary hypertension (PoPH) is a clinical condition associated with end-stage liver disease, described by the coexistence of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and portal hypertension. In PoPH patients, there is a right ventricle (RV) remodeling to compensate for the increased resistance in the lung circulation. There are no studies on the effects of the PAH-targeted pharmacological treatment on the RV dimension and function. The present study summarizes our experience in patients with PoPH treated with sildenafil in a period of 6 years (from 2013 to 2019). We enrolled 64 consecutive patients identified as PoPH, all treated with sildenafil (57.6% in monotherapy; in the other cases in association with macitentan; in 19.0% with initial combination therapy). A hemodynamic invasive cardiopulmonary study was performed at baseline and after 6 months of sildenafil treatment. In our population we showed a significative improvement in RV performance, with a significant increase in RV stroke volume (+33%), RV ejection fraction (+31%) and RV stroke work index (+17.5%). We registered the reduction of the RV cavity dimension over time in all patients treated with sildenafil (RV end diastolic diameter decreased by 15% after 6 months of follow-up). Regarding diastolic function, we highlighted a very significant reduction in RV end-diastolic pressure (-50% concerning baseline). Sildenafil was effective both when used as monotherapy and in combination with macitentan. In conclusion, Sildenafil had a positive impact on RV systolic and diastolic function in patients with PoPH and was able to conditionate the reverse remodeling of the RV.

Point-of-Care Echocardiography and Hemodynamic Monitoring in Cirrhosis and Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure in the COVID-19 Era

Point-of-Care (POC) transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is transforming the management of patients with cirrhosis presenting with septic shock, acute kidney injury, hepatorenal syndrome and acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) by correctly assessing the hemodynamic and volume status at the bedside using combined echocardiography and POC ultrasound (POCUS). When POC TTE is performed by the hepatologist or intensivist in the intensive care unit (ICU), and interpreted remotely by a cardiologist, it can rule out cardiovascular conditions that may be contributing to undifferentiated shock, such as diastolic dysfunction, myocardial infarction, myocarditis, regional wall motion abnormalities and pulmonary embolism. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a delay in seeking medical treatment, reduced invasive interventions and deferment in referrals leading to "collateral damage" in critically ill patients with liver disease. Thus, the use of telemedicine in the ICU (Tele-ICU) has integrated cardiology, intensive care, and hepatology practices across the spectrum of ICU, operating room, and transplant healthcare. Telecardiology tools have improved bedside diagnosis when introduced as part of COVID-19 care by remote supervision and interpretation of POCUS and echocardiographic data. In this review, we present the contemporary approach of using POC echocardiography and offer a practical guide for primary care hepatologists and gastroenterologists for cardiac assessment in critically ill patients with cirrhosis and ACLF. Evidenced based use of Tele-ICU can prevent delay in cardiac diagnosis, optimize safe use of expert resources and ensure timely care in the setting of critically ill cirrhosis, ACLF and liver transplantation in the COVID-19 era.

Acute heart failure after liver transplantation: A narrative review

Acute heart failure (AHF) is an under recognized yet potentially lethal complication after liver transplantation (LT) surgery. The increase in incidence of liver transplantation amongst high-risk patients and the leniency in the criteria for transplantation, predisposes these patients to postoperative AHF and the antecedent morbidity and mortality. The inability of conventional preoperative cardiovascular testing to accurately identify patients at risk for post-LT AHF poses a considerable challenge to clinicians caring for these patients. Even if high-risk patients are identified, there is considerable ambiguity in the candidacy for transplantation as well as optimization strategies that could potentially prevent the development of AHF in the postoperative period. The intraoperative and postoperative management of patients who develop AHF is also challenging and requires a well-coordinated multidisciplinary approach. The use of mechanical circulatory support in patients with refractory heart failure has the potential to improve outcomes but its use in this complex patient population can be associated with significant complications and requires a stringent risk-benefit analysis on a case-by-case basis.

Spontaneous portosystemic shunts in liver cirrhosis: new approaches to an old problem

Portal hypertension is the main consequence of liver cirrhosis, leading to severe complications such as variceal hemorrhage, ascites or hepatic encephalopathy. As an attempt to decompress the portal venous system, portal flow is derived into the systemic venous system through spontaneous portosystemic shunts (SPSSs), bypassing the liver. In this review, we aim to provide an overview of the published reports in relation to the prevalence and physiopathology behind the appearance of SPSS in liver cirrhosis, as well as the complications derived from its formation and its management. The role of SPSS embolization is specifically discussed, as SPSSs have been assessed as a therapeutic target, mainly for patients with recurrent/persistent hepatic encephalopathy and preserved liver function. Furthermore, different aspects of the role of SPSS in liver transplantation, as well as in candidates for transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt are reviewed. In these settings, SPSS occlusion has been proposed to minimize possible deleterious effects, but results are so far inconclusive.

Pulmonary manifestations of chronic liver disease: a comprehensive review

Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) and porto-pulmonary hypertension (PoPH) represent relatively common pulmonary vascular complications of advanced liver disease. Despite distinct differences in their pathogenetic background, both clinical states are characterized by impaired arterial oxygenation and limited functional status, and are associated with increased pre-transplantation mortality. Accumulation of ascitic fluid in the pleural cavity, known as hepatic hydrothorax (HH), is another frequent manifestation of decompensated cirrhosis, which may cause severe respiratory dysfunction, depending on the volume of the effusion, the rapidity of its development and its resistance to therapeutic measures. Orthotopic liver transplantation constitutes the only effective treatment able to resolve the pulmonary complications of liver disease. A prioritization policy for liver transplantation has evolved over the past years regarding advanced stages of HPS, yielding favorable outcomes regarding post-transplantation survival and HPS resolution. In contrast, severe PoPH is associated with poor post-transplantation survival. Hence, liver transplantation is recommended only for patients with PoPH and an acceptable reduction in pulmonary pressure values, after receiving PoPH-targeted vasodilating therapy. This review focuses on basic pathogenetic and diagnostic principles and discusses the current therapeutic approaches regarding HPS, PoPH, and HH.