TABLE 1.
Analysis of patients’ pre-liver transplant (LT) characteristics for the entire cohort and according to Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score (≥40 versus <40) categories at LT
| Characteristic | Total | MELD score | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||
| <40 (n=491) | ≥40 (n=28) | |||
| Demographics | ||||
| Age, years, median (IQR) (n=519) | 54 (48–59) | 54 (48–59) | 53 (48–59) | 0.57 |
| Male sex, n (%) (n=519) | 353 (68) | 334/491 (68) | 19/28 (68) | 0.99 |
| Race (Caucasian), n (%) (n=515) | 441 (86) | 419/487 (86) | 22/28 (79) | 0.27 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2, median (IQR) (n=517) | 25 (22–28) | 25 (22–28) | 26 (23–31) | 0.047 |
| Indication for LT, n (%) (n=519) | ||||
| Hepatitis C | 124 (24) | 115/491 (23) | 9/28 (32) | 0.29 |
| Hepatitis B | 13 (3) | 10/491 (2) | 3/28 (11) | 0.028 |
| Hepatic malignancy | 109 (21) | 106/491 (22) | 3/28 (11) | 0.23 |
| Primary biliary cirrhosis or primary sclerosing cholangitis | 96 (18) | 90/491 (18) | 6/28 (21) | 0.68 |
| Alcohol | 70 (14) | 68/491 (14) | 2/28 (7) | 0.41 |
| Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or cryptogenic | 41 (8) | 39/491 (8) | 2/28 (7) | 1.00 |
| Autoimmune | 20 (4) | 20/491 (4) | 0/28 (0) | 0.62 |
| Other | 46 (9) | 43/491 (9) | 3/28 (11) | 0.73 |
| Complications of cirrhosis, n (%) | ||||
| Infection (n=465) | 190 (41) | 172/438 (39) | 18/27 (67) | 0.005 |
| Variceal bleeding (n=517) | 235 (45) | 220/489 (45) | 15/28 (54) | 0.38 |
| Hepatic encephalopathy (n=519) | 312 (60) | 287/491 (59) | 25/28 (89) | 0.001 |
| Grades 3 to 4 | 90 (17) | 73/491 (15) | 17/28 (61) | <0.001 |
| Hepatorenal syndrome (n=456) | 75 (16) | 61/430 (14) | 14/26 (54) | <0.001 |
| Hepatopulmonary syndrome (n=454) | 12 (3) | 12/428 (3) | 0/26 (0) | 1.00 |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | ||||
| Coronary artery disease (n=519) | 24 (5) | 24/491 (5) | 0/28 (0) | 0.63 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (n=519) | 22 (4) | 22/491 (5) | 0/28 (0) | 0.62 |
| Diabetes mellitus (n=519) | 110 (21) | 103/491 (21) | 7/28 (25) | 0.61 |
| Chronic kidney diease (GFR <60 mL/min) (n=374) | 78 (21) | 70/351 (20) | 8/23 (35) | 0.09 |
| Laboratory parameters (day of LT) | ||||
| Hemoglobin*, g/L, mean ± SD (n=188) | 100±20 | 101±20 | 83±6 | <0.001 |
| International normalized ratio, median (IQR) (n=519) | 1.4 (1.2–1.7) | 1.3 (1.2–1.6) | 2.8 (2.3–3.3) | <0.001 |
| Albumin, g/L, median (IQR) (n=486) | 34 (30–39) | 34 (30–39) | 38 (33–44) | 0.001 |
| Bilirubin, μmol/L, median (IQR) (n=519) | 50 (28–133) | 46 (27–104) | 757 (515–907) | <0.001 |
| Creatinine, μmol/L, median (IQR) (n=519) | 86 (68–112) | 84 (67–109) | 117 (100–196) | <0.001 |
| Sodium, mmol/L, median (IQR) (n=510) | 136 (133–138) | 136 (133–138) | 138 (134–139) | 0.07 |
| pH*, mean ± SD (n=188) | 7.39±0.06 | 7.39±0.07 | 7.40±0.05 | 0.64 |
| Lactate, mmol/L, median (IQR) (n=188) | 1.7 (1.2–2.7) | 1.7 (1.2–2.6) | 2.7 (1.4–4.2) | 0.09 |
| Intensive care unit stay before LT, n (%) (n=519) | 69 (13) | 46/491 (9) | 23/28 (82) | <0.001 |
| Mechanical ventilation† (n=45) | 34 (76) | 23/29 (79) | 11/16 (69) | 0.43 |
| Vasopressors† (n=45) | 32 (71) | 18/29 (62) | 14/16 (88) | 0.09 |
| Renal replacement therapy† (n=45) | 31 (69) | 17/29 (59) | 14/16 (88) | 0.09 |
| Severity aggregate scores (day of LT) | ||||
| Sequential Organ Failure Assessment*†, mean ± SD (n=45) | 16±4 | 16±4 | 17±3 | 0.14 |
| Child-Turcotte-Pugh, median (IQR) (n=519) | 10 (8–12) | 9 (7–12) | 13 (12–13) | < 0.001 |
*
Normal distribution;
†
Data available for 45 of 69 patients. IQR Interquartile range; GFR Glomerular filtration rate