Clinical study on safety of adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation in both donors and recipients

Histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate solution versus University of Wisconsin solution in adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation: A propensity score matching analysis from mainland China

To compare the difference between University of Wisconsin (UW) solution and histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate (HTK) solution in adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT).This study included LDLT patients at the Liver Transplantation Center of West China Hospital of Sichuan University from November 2001 to June 2018. These patients were classified into 2 groups depending on the use of the different preservation solutions, and the confounding factors between the 2 groups were eliminated by propensity score matching. Finally, the incidence of complications; serum examination at postoperative days 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 21, and 30; and the overall survival rate of the 2 groups were compared to observe whether there were any differences between the 2 preservation solutions.Of the 298 patients we screened, 170 were treated with UW solution and 128 with HTK solution. After propensity score matching, 106 pairs of patients were selected. In the comparison of the 2 groups, the length of intensive care unit stay in the UW group was significantly longer than that in the HTK group (P = .022), but there was no difference in the total length of hospital stay between the 2 groups (P = .277). No statistically significant difference was observed in the 2 groups in terms of the incidence of complications or postoperative examinations. However, the incidence of early allograft dysfunction in the HTK group was slightly lower than that in the UW group (HTK: UW = 14.1%: 20.7%), although the difference was not statistically significant. In terms of the overall survival rate, the 1, 3, and 5-year survival rates of the HTK group were 85.5%, 70.2%, and 65.1%, respectively, while the 1, 3, and 5-year survival rates of the UW group were 83.1%, 67.2%, and 59.8%, respectively, and there was no significant difference between the 2 groups.In conclusion, our study shows that UW solution and HTK solution are equivalent in perioperative safety, the recovery of transplanted liver function, the occurrence of postoperative complications and overall survival and can be safely and effectively applied in adult LDLT. If economic factors are taken into account, HTK can save costs to a certain extent.

The impact of metabolic syndrome and prevalent liver disease on living donor liver transplantation: a pressing need to expand the pool

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Organ shortage has been the ongoing obstacle to expanding liver transplantation worldwide. Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is hoped to improve this shortage. The aim of the present study is to analyze the impact of metabolic syndrome and prevalent liver disease on living donations.

METHODS

From July 2007 to May 2012, 1065 potential living donors were evaluated according to a stepwise evaluation protocol. The age of the worked-up donors ranged from 18 to 45 years.

RESULTS

Only 190 (18%) were accepted for donation, and 875 (82%) were rejected. In total, 265 (24.9%) potential donors were excluded because of either diabetes or a body mass index >28. Some potential donors were excluded at initial screening because of incompatible blood groups (115; 10.8%), social reasons (40; 3.8%), or elevated liver enzymes (9; 1%). Eighty-five (8%) donors were excluded because of positive hepatitis serology. Steatosis resulted in the exclusion of 84 (8%) donors. In addition, 80 (7.5%) potential donors were rejected because of variations in biliary anatomy, and 20 (2%) were rejected because of aberrant vascular anatomy. Rejection due to biliary-related aberrancy decreased significantly in the second half of our program (11 vs. 4%, p = 0.001). In total, 110 (10.3%) potential donors were rejected because of insufficient remnant volume (<30%) as determined by CT volumetry, whereas 24 (2.2%) were rejected because of a graft-to-recipient body weight ratio less than 0.8%.

CONCLUSION

Metabolic syndrome and viral hepatitis negatively impacted our living donor pool. Expanding the donor pool requires the implementation of new strategies.

Hepatic Arterial Buffer Response Maintains the Homeostasis of Graft Hemodynamics in Patient Receiving Living Donor Liver Transplantation

BACKGROUND

In living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), the hepatic hemodynamics plays important roles in graft regeneration, and the hepatic blood inflows are associated with graft size. However, the data of interplay between the hepatic arterial buffer response (HABR) and graft-to-recipient weight ratio (GRWR) in clinical LDLT are lacking.

AIMS

To identify the effect of the HABR on the hepatic hemodynamics and recovery of graft function and to evaluate the safe lower limit of the GRWR in carefully selected recipients.

METHODS

Portal venous and hepatic arterial blood flow was measured in recipients with ultrasonography, and the graft functional recovery, various complications, and survive states after LDLT were compared.

RESULTS

In total, 246 consecutive patients underwent LDLT with right lobe grafts. In total, 26 had a GRWR < 0.7 % (A), 29 had a GRWR between 0.7 and 0.8 % (B), and 181 had a GRWR > 0.8 % (C). For small-for-size syndrome, there was no significant difference (P = 0.176). Graft survival rates at 1, 3, and 5 year were not different (P = 0.710). The portal vein flow and portal vein flow per 100 g graft weight peaks were significantly higher in the A. Hepatic arterial velocity and hepatic arterial flow decreased in all the three groups on postoperative day 1; however, the hepatic arterial flow per 100 g graft weight was close to healthy controls.

CONCLUSIONS

HABR played important roles not only in the homeostasis of hepatic afferent blood supply but also in maintaining enough hepatic perfusion to the graft.

Comparison of Different Scoring Systems Based on Both Donor and Recipient Characteristics for Predicting Outcome after Living Donor Liver Transplantation

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

In order to provide a good match between donor and recipient in liver transplantation, four scoring systems [the product of donor age and Model for End-stage Liver Disease score (D-MELD), the score to predict survival outcomes following liver transplantation (SOFT), the balance of risk score (BAR), and the transplant risk index (TRI)] based on both donor and recipient parameters were designed. This study was conducted to evaluate the performance of the four scores in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and compare them with the MELD score.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The clinical data of 249 adult patients undergoing LDLT in our center were retrospectively evaluated. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) of each score were calculated and compared at 1-, 3-, 6-month and 1-year after LDLT.

RESULTS

The BAR at 1-, 3-, 6-month and 1-year after LDLT and the D-MELD and TRI at 1-, 3- and 6-month after LDLT showed acceptable performances in the prediction of survival (AUC>0.6), while the SOFT showed poor discrimination at 6-month after LDLT (AUC = 0.569). In addition, the D-MELD and BAR displayed positive correlations with the length of ICU stay (D-MELD, p = 0.025; BAR, p = 0.022). The SOFT was correlated with the time of mechanical ventilation (p = 0.022).

CONCLUSION

The D-MELD, BAR and TRI provided acceptable performance in predicting survival after LDLT. However, even though these scoring systems were based on both donor and recipient parameters, only the BAR provided better performance than the MELD in predicting 1-year survival after LDLT.

Donor rejection before living donor liver transplantation: causes and cost effective analysis in an egyptian transplant center

BACKGROUND

In the living donor liver transplant setting, the preoperative assessment of potential donors is important to ensure the donor safety.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to identify causes and costs of living liver-donors rejection in the donation process.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

From June 2010 to June 2012, all potential living liver donors for 66 liver transplant candidates were screened at the Ain Shams Center for Organ Transplantation. Potential donors were evaluated in 3 phases, and their data were reviewed to determine the causes and at which phase the donors were rejected.

RESULTS

One hundred and ninety two potential living liver donors, including 157 (81.7%) males, were screened for 66 potential recipients. Of these, 126 (65.6%) were disqualified for the donation. The causes of rejection were classified as surgical (9.5 %) or medical (90.5 %). Five donors (3.9 %) were rejected due to multiple causes. Factor V Leiden mutation was detected in 29 (23 %) rejected donors (P = 0.001), 25 (19.8 %) donors had positive results for hepatitis serology (P = 0.005), and 16 (12.7 %) tested positive for drug abuse. Portal vein trifurcation (n = 9, 7.1%) and small size liver graft estimated by CT volumetric analysis (n = 6, 4.8 %) were the main surgical causes which precluded the donation.

CONCLUSIONS

Among potential Egyptian living liver donors, Factor V Leiden mutation was a significant cause for live donor rejection. A stepwise approach to donor assessment was found to be cost-effective.

Chemokines in chronic liver allograft dysfunction pathogenesis and potential therapeutic targets

Despite advances in immunosuppressive drugs, long-term success of liver transplantation is still limited by the development of chronic liver allograft dysfunction. Although the exact pathogenesis of chronic liver allograft dysfunction remains to be established, there is strong evidence that chemokines are involved in organ damage induced by inflammatory and immune responses after liver surgery. Chemokines are a group of low-molecular-weight molecules whose function includes angiogenesis, haematopoiesis, mitogenesis, organ fibrogenesis, tumour growth and metastasis, and participating in the development of the immune system and in inflammatory and immune responses. The purpose of this review is to collect all the research that has been done so far concerning chemokines and the pathogenesis of chronic liver allograft dysfunction and helpfully, to pave the way for designing therapeutic strategies and pharmaceutical agents to ameliorate chronic allograft dysfunction after liver transplantation.

The pre-Kasai procedure in living donor liver transplantation for children with biliary atresia

BACKGROUND

Biliary atresia (BA) is a major cause of chronic cholestasis, a fatal disorder in infants. This study was undertaken to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of primary living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in comparison with the traditional first-line treatment, the Kasai procedure.

METHODS

We assessed 28 children with BA at age of less than two years (3-21.3 months) who had undergone LDLT in two hospitals in Southwest China during the period of 2008-2011. Eighteen children who had had primary LDLT were included in a primary LDLT group, and ten children who had undergone the Kasai operation in a pre-Kasai group. All patients were followed up after discharge from the hospital. The records of the BA patients and donors were reviewed.

RESULTS

The time of follow-up ranged 12-44.5 months with a median of 31 months. The 30-day and 1-year survival rates were 85.7% and 78.6%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the 30-day or 1-year survival between the two groups (83.3% vs 90% and 77.8% vs 80%, P>0.05). The main cause of death was hepatic artery thrombosis. There were more patients with complications who required intensive medical care or re-operation in the pre-Kasai group (8, 80%) than in the primary LDLT group (9, 50%) (P=0.226). But no significant differences were observed in operating time (9.3 vs 8.9 hours, P=0.77), intraoperative blood loss (208.6 vs 197.0 mL, P=0.84) and blood transfusion (105.6 vs 100.0 mL, P=0.91) between the two groups. The durations of ICU and hospital stay in the primary LDLT group and pre-Kasai group were 180.4 vs 157.7 hours (P=0.18) and 27 vs 29 days (P=0.29), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Primary LDLT is a safe and efficient management for young pediatric patients with BA. Compared with the outcome of LDLT for patients receiving a previous Kasai operation, a similar survival rate and a low rate of re-operation and intensive medical care for patients with BA can be obtained.

Comparison between living donor liver transplantation recipients who met the Milan and UCSF criteria after successful downstaging therapies

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Various downstaging therapies were introduced to liver recipients who could not meet the relative criteria for liver transplantation, and many endpoints were reported. The most common criteria used were the Milan criteria and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) criteria. However, no comparison was made between them, and we attempted to find possible differences between the living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) patients who met the Milan criteria and those who met the UCSF criteria after accepting preoperative downstaging therapies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We performed a retrospective study of all 72 patients at our center from January 2003 to March 2009 who were diagnosed with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma but accepted various downstaging therapies. Some patients met the Milan criteria (group 1), and some met the UCSF criteria (group 2) but not the Milan criteria. We collected the data from the two groups and then compared the preoperative demographic data, downstaging therapies, intraoperative data from LDLT, and the recovery and complications after LDLT. Survival rates were compared using Kaplan-Meier analysis.

RESULTS

Only 44 patients (61.1 %) met the criteria for liver transplantation, 21 cases met the Milan criteria (group 1), and 23 cases met the UCSF criteria (group 2) but not the Milan criteria. All of the 44 patients accepted right lobe living liver donor liver transplantation in our center. The difference in the baseline characteristics between the two groups did not reach statistical significance. The mean number of downstaging treatments per patient was 1.81 ± 0.35 in group 1 and 1.83 ± 0.41 in group 2 (P = 0.928). Most of the patients received only one downstaging treatment, and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) was the most common downstaging therapy. Four patients suffered complications after downstaging therapies: intra-abdominal hemorrhage after right hepatectomy, upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage after TACE, biliary fistula after resection, and hand-foot syndrome after taking sorafenib. All complications after LDLT, classified according to the Clavien-Dindo system, were compared within the two groups, and the calculated score of the complications in group 1 was 1.48 ± 1.63, which was greater than that of group 2 (1.39 ± 1.64), but this difference did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.865). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 90.4, 76.2, and 71.4 % in group 1 and 91.3, 73.9, and 69.6 % in group 2, respectively (P > 0.05). Seven patients (three in group 1 and four in group 2) had tumor recurrence after a median follow-up period of 72 months. The pathology findings were not different between the two groups.

CONCLUSION

Recipients who meet the Milan or UCSF criteria after accepting successful preoperative downstaging therapy in LDLT can achieve the same result.

Discrepancy between estimated and actual weight of partial liver graft from living donors

Background/purpose

A discrepancy between the actually obtained graft weight and the preoperative volumetric estimation is often observed in living donor liver transplantation. The aim of the study reported here was to clarify the prevalence and degree of this discrepancy between estimated and actual liver volume.

Materials and methods

Preoperative volumetric evaluations of 26 live donor livers were performed using three‐dimensional computed tomography software. The weight of the liver graft and blood contained in the graft were measured immediately after procurement and compared with the preoperative estimate. The graft was also weighed after perfusion and after back‐table procedures.

Results

Analysis of the results revealed that blood‐free graft weight was significantly overestimated (p = 0.02) and blood weight was significantly underestimated (p < 0.001). The sum of the weight of the graft and blood best corresponded to the preoperative volume estimate (R 2 = 0.64,p < 0.001). The back‐table procedures significantly decreased the weight of the liver graft (p < 0.001). Graft weight after perfusion and after venous reconstruction corresponded to 95 and 90% of the weight obtained before perfusion, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that donor age had the most significant influence on the ratio of the weight decrease in the University of Wisconsin solution (p = 0.03).

Conclusions

The weight of liver grafts decreases significantly during back‐table procedures. Underestimation of the blood weight contained in the graft is one cause of the graft weight discrepancy, but weight loss while the graft was immersed in the University of Wisconsin solution was also observed. These phenomena should be taken into account when graft size is being determined.

In-hospital mortality in adult recipients of living donor liver transplantation: experience of 576 consecutive cases at a single center

Adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) was developed against the background of a scarcity of deceased donors and has a number of disadvantages leading to in-hospital mortality, such as marginal donors and grafts and recipients suffering from severe conditions. We have thus developed surgical and medical innovations to overcome these disadvantages. The present study analyzes the causes of death and factors affecting in-hospital mortality in adult recipients of LDLT. Between November 1994 and December 2007, 576 consecutive adult patients underwent LDLT at a single medical center. Overall in-hospital mortality was 18.9%. The peak rate was 55.6% in 1996, and the rate gradually decreased thereafter to 4.4% in 2007. The most frequent cause of death was infection (62.5%), which was followed by rejection (15.7%) and nonseptic multiple-organ failure (8.9%). Being intensive care unit-bound before the operation, ABO blood type incompatibility, an absence of postoperative enteral nutrition, and a Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score of 25 or higher were independent risk factors for in-hospital mortality. In ABO-identical and ABO-compatible cases, retransplantation and a positive lymphocyte crossmatch test were additional independent risk factors. In conclusion, even aggressive efforts, preoperative conditions such as being intensive care unit-bound, a high Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score, retransplantation, and a positive lymphocyte crossmatch test are still risk factors. Enteral nutrition could be a promising strategy to improve adult LDLT.

Complications of right lobe living donor liver transplantation

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Right lobar living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has been controversial because of donor deaths and widely variable reports of recipient and donor morbidity. Our aims were to ensure full disclosure to donors and recipients of the risks and benefits of this procedure in a large University center and to help explain reporting inconsistencies.

METHODS

The Clavien 5-tier grading system was applied retrospectively in 121 consecutive adult right lobe recipients and their donors. The incidence was determined of potentially (Grade III), actually (Grade IV), or ultimately fatal (Grade V) complications during the first post-transplant year. When patients had more than one complication, only the seminal one was counted, or the most serious one if complications occurred contemporaneously.

RESULTS

One year recipient/graft survival was 91%/84%. Within the year, 80 (66%) of the 121 recipients had Grade III (n=54) Grade IV (n=16), or Grade V (n=10) complications. The complications involved the graft's biliary tract (42% incidence), graft vasculature (15%), or non-graft locations (9%). Complications during the first year did not decline with increased team experience, and adversely affected survival out to 5 years. All 121 donors survive. However, 13 donors (10.7%) had Grade III (n=9) or IV (n=4) complications of which five were graft-related.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the satisfactory recipient and graft survival at our and selected other institutions, and although we have not had a donor mortality to date, the role of right lobar LDLT is not clear because of the recipient morbidity and risk to the donors.

Prevent small-for-size syndrome using dual grafts in living donor liver transplantation

BACKGROUND

The growing gap between the number of patients waiting for transplantation and available organs is still the main issue facing the transplant community. The major limitation of adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is the small-for-size problem because of the concern of donor safety. We report preliminary experiences for preventing small-for-size syndrome using dual grafts from one right lobe without the middle hepatic vein and one left lateral segment in adult-to-adult LDLT.

METHODS

One hundred ten cases of adult-to-adult LDLT were performed in West China Hospital of Sichuan University from January 2002 to August 2007, and there were 16 small-for-size (SFS) grafts in all grafts. Dual grafts LDLT was performed for six patients with end-stage liver disease, consisting of five cases from one right lobe without the middle hepatic vein and one left lateral segment, and one case from two left lobes.

RESULTS

All living donors underwent a full recovery from the operation without persistent complications. Four recipients died of sepsis, one recipient received re-transplantation, and three recipients received transplenic artery embolization in the recipients with SFS grafts. All recipients with dual grafts displayed good graft function and a majority of grafts showed normal triangular-shape regeneration of their respective liver grafts. Only in one left lateral segment atrophy occurred, graft hepatectomy was not required.

CONCLUSION

Dual grafts from one right lobe without the middle hepatic vein and one left lateral segment in adult-to-adult LDLT can prevent the small-for-size problem and yet secure the safety of the donors.

Recipient morbidity after living and deceased donor liver transplantation: findings from the A2ALL Retrospective Cohort Study

Patients considering living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) need to know the risk and severity of complications compared to deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT). One aim of the Adult-to-Adult Living Donor Liver Transplantation Cohort Study (A2ALL) was to examine recipient complications following these procedures. Medical records of DDLT or LDLT recipients who had a living donor evaluated at the nine A2ALL centers between 1998 and 2003 were reviewed. Among 384 LDLT and 216 DDLT, at least one complication occurred after 82.8% of LDLT and 78.2% of DDLT (p = 0.17). There was a median of two complications after DDLT and three after LDLT. Complications that occurred at a higher rate (p < 0.05) after LDLT included biliary leak (31.8% vs. 10.2%), unplanned reexploration (26.2% vs. 17.1%), hepatic artery thrombosis (6.5% vs. 2.3%) and portal vein thrombosis (2.9% vs. 0.0%). There were more complications leading to retransplantation or death (Clavien grade 4) after LDLT versus DDLT (15.9% vs. 9.3%, p = 0.023). Many complications occurred more commonly during early center experience; the odds of grade 4 complications were more than two-fold higher when centers had performed <or=20 LDLT (vs. >40). In summary, complication rates were higher after LDLT versus DDLT, but declined with center experience to levels comparable to DDLT.