How Can We Improve the Selection of Patients Awaiting Liver Retransplantation?

Abstract

Objective: To analyze predictors of survival involved in liver retransplantation (LRT), including the Rosen Model (RM).

Materials and methods: This was a descriptive, observational, and unicentric study based on predictors of survival including patients who underwent LRT in a tertiary medical center between April 2002 and December 2018. Recipient, donor, and transplant data were collected, and RM score was calculated for every patient. Fisher exact test and Student t test were used for qualitative and quantitative variables, respectively. The Shapiro-Wilks test was applied to verify the normality of the sample. Survival differences between subgroups were checked using the log-rank test. Statistical significance was stated at P < .05.

Results: Among 32 retransplanted patients in this period, 17 (53.1%) survived more than 12 months after LRT. The results of statistical associations between prognostic factors and overall survival highlighted that an older recipient age was significantly correlated with a lower overall survival. The 3-month overall survival was 84.3%. Nineteen patients had a low risk according to RM, with a 3-month survival rate of 78.9%. Eight had a RM intermediate risk, with a survival rate of 21%. Despite the aforementioned data, the log-rank test did not find statistical differences in survival (P = .488).

Conclusion: We should consider older recipient age as a negative prognostic factor of overall survival. Also, we should contemplate intermediate risk according to RM as an adverse predictor regarding survival in LRT. Both data are of interest regarding the indication or not of LRT and prioritization on the waiting list.