Table 1.
Clinical Characteristics of the Patients
| Characteristic | Steroid group (n=132) | Steroid-free group (n=66) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, yr | 49.55±0.75 | 50.23±1.02 | 0.599 |
| Sex, male/female | 117/15 | 62/4 | 0.232 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 22.47±0.23 | 22.60±0.30 | 0.751 |
| Transplantation type | 0.061 | ||
| LDLT | 27 | 5 | |
| DDLT | 92 | 52 | |
| DCD | 13 | 9 | |
| Cold ischemia time, hr | |||
| LDLT | 1.31±0.265 | 1.21±0.095 | 0.872 |
| DDLT | 9.72±0.26 | 10.03±0.317 | 0.462 |
| DCD | 9.47±0.754 | 8.8±1.135 | 0.616 |
| DM pre-LT | 12 (9.1) | 7 (10.6) | 0.733 |
| Hypertension pre-LT | 13 (9.8) | 4 (6.1) | 0.370 |
| MELD score | 13.20±0.54 | 13.47±1.04 | 0.798 |
| Child score | 7.47±0.20 | 6.94±0.34 | 0.204 |
| HBV-DNA | 0.191 | ||
| <103 copies/mL | 65 | 39 | |
| ≥103 copies/mL | 67 | 27 | |
| Pretransplant AFP | 3,986.31±1,219.74 | 2331.96±1784.25 | 0.461 |
| Hangzhou criteria, fulfilling/exceeding | 96/36 | 44/22 | 0.377 |
| Milan criteria, fulfilling/exceeding | 53/79 | 33/33 | 0.188 |
| Tumor characteristics | |||
| Size of greatest tumor, cm | 4.60±0.26 | 4.39±0.43 | 0.661 |
| No. of tumors | 3.89±0.77 | 1.88±0.18 | 0.066 |
| Histological differentiation | 0.181 | ||
| Well differentiated | 3 | 5 | |
| Moderately differentiated | 64 | 28 | |
| Poorly differentiated | 65 | 33 | |
| Vascular invasion | 31 | 17 | 0.358 |
| Tacrolimus levels post-LT, ng/mL | |||
| 7 Day | 7.59±0.55 | 6.95±0.48 | 0.384 |
| 14 Day | 9.00±0.50 | 9.55±0.49 | 0.433 |
| 30 Day | 7.76 ±0.37 | 6.20±0.29 | 0.001 |
| 60 Day | 8.66±0.36 | 7.24±0.33 | 0.005 |
| 90 Day | 7.43±0.42 | 7.20±0.67 | 0.756 |
| 120 Day | 6.85±0.49 | 6.50±0.65 | 0.668 |
Data are presented as mean±SD or number (%).
BMI, body mass index; LDLT, liver living donor liver transplantation; DDLT, deceased donor liver transplantation; DCD, donation after cardiac death; DM, diabetes mellitus; LT, liver transplantation; MELD, Model for End-stage Liver Disease; HBV, hepatitis B virus; AFP, alpha fetoprotein.