Table 1.
Factors associated with the severity of recurrent hepatitis C after liver transplantation.
| Variables | Effect on recurrent hepatitis C |
|---|---|
| Donor and graft factors | |
| Age [17, 37–43] | More severe disease (>40, >50, >65) |
| Steatosis [56, 57, 76–79] | Few studies |
| Prolonged ischemic time [54, 55, 80–83] | More severe disease |
| HCV+ graft [6, 22, 40, 50–53, 76] | No influence |
| Reduced size versus whole liver (LDLT versus DDLT) [39, 84–95] | No difference |
| Pretransplant recipient factors | |
| Genotype 1b [8, 32, 33, 35, 40] | Controversial |
| Pre-LT higher viral load [21, 28, 96, 97] | Unclear |
| Age [32, 44, 98] | Few studies |
| Race [45, 46, 99] | Few studies |
| Sex [20, 47, 48] | Few studies |
| HIV coinfection [100–107] | No influence |
| IL-28B gene polymorphism [49, 108–111] | More severe disease in CT and TT genotype |
| Posttransplant recipient factors | |
| Post-LT higher viral load [10, 27–31] | More severe disease |
| CMV infection [22, 29, 32, 112–116] | Unclear |
| Diabetes mellitus (Metabolic syndrome) [29, 117–121] | More severe disease |
| Immunosuppression | |
| Steroid bolus/OKT3 [6, 21, 22, 58, 59, 122–124] | More severe disease |
| Maintenance steroid [34, 60–62, 122] | Severe disease when rapidly tapered |
| Steroid free regimen [63–68, 125–127] | No influence |
| Tacrolimus versus cyclosporine [69–75] | No difference |
| Anti-IL-2 receptor antibodies [63, 126, 128–131] | Controversial |
| Azathioprine/mycophenolate mofetil [132–140] | Controversial |
| mTOR inhibitors [141–143] | Few studies |
CMV: cytomegalovirus; DDLT: deceased-donor liver transplantation; HCV: hepatitis C virus; HIV: human immunodeficiency virus; LDLT: living-donor liver transplantation; LT: liver transplantation; mTOR: mammalian target of rapamycin.