TABLE 3.
Comparison of Demographic and Clinical Characteristics Among Wait‐List Additions and LT Recipients With ALD Before and During the COVID‐19 Pandemic
| Wait‐List Additions* | LT Recipients † | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre‐COVID Era | COVID Era | P Value | Pre‐COVID Era | COVID Era | P Value | |
| June 2019 to February 2020 (n = 3,546), (%) | April 2020 to December 2020 (n = 3,710), (%) | June 2019 to February 2020 (n = 2,328), (%) | April 2020 to December 2020 (n = 2,495), (%) | |||
| Median age [IQR] (years) | 55 [14] | 54 [16] | =0.007 | 54 [15] | 54 [16] | 0.134 |
| Age | 0.010 | 0.088 | ||||
| 18‐34 | 185 (5.2) | 223 (6.0) | 121 (5.2) | 169 (6.8) | ||
| 35‐50 | 976 (27.5) | 1,090 (29.4) | 676 (29.0) | 745 (30.0) | ||
| 50‐64 | 1,846 (52.1) | 1,920 (51.8) | 1,206 (51.8) | 1,256 (50.3) | ||
| >65 | 539 (15.2) | 477 (12.9) | 325 (14.0) | 325 (13.0) | ||
| Gender | 0.835 | 0.695 | ||||
| Female | 1,012 (28.5) | 1,067 (28.8) | 619 (26.6) | 651 (26.1) | ||
| Male | 2,534 (71.5) | 2,643 (71.2) | 1,709 (73.4) | 1,844 (73.9) | ||
| Ethnicity/race | 0.398 | 0.003 | ||||
| Caucasian | 2,635 (74.3) | 2,749 (74.1) | 1,760 (75.6) | 1,836 (73.6) | ||
| African American | 160 (4.5) | 156 (4.2) | 113 (4.9) | 106 (4.2) | ||
| Hispanic | 628 (17.7) | 648 (17.5) | 382 (16.4) | 447 (17.9) | ||
| Asian | 55 (1.6) | 79 (2.1) | 26 (1.1) | 62 (2.5) | ||
| Other | 68 (1.9) | 78 (2.1) | 47 (2.0) | 44 (1.8) | ||
| Primary insurance | ||||||
| Medicaid | 1,656 (17.4) | 1,692 (18.3) | 924 (14.6) | 1,040 (16.5) | ||
| Medicare | 2,642 (27.7) | 2,345 (25.3) | 1,918 (30.3) | 1,797 (28.5) | ||
| Private | 4,781 (50.2) | 4,771 (51.5) | 3,245 (51.3) | 3,171 (50.3) | ||
| All other | 449 (4.7) | 451 (4.9) | 238 (3.8) | 301 (4.8) | ||
| Median laboratory MELD‐Na score [IQR] | 22 [15] | 23 [16] | <0.001 | 27 [15] | 28 [14] | <0.001 |
| MELD‐Na score | 0.001 | <0.001 | ||||
| <15 | 810 (22.8%) | 794 (21.4%) | 290 (12.5%) | 270 (10.8%) | ||
| 15‐24 | 1,326 (37.4%) | 1,263 (34.0%) | 712 (30.6%) | 674 (27.0%) | ||
| 25‐29 | 467 (13.2%) | 510 (13.7%) | 428 (18.4%) | 432 (17.3%) | ||
| 30‐34 | 384 (10.8%) | 475 (12.8%) | 339 (14.6%) | 485 (19.4%) | ||
| >35 | 559 (15.8%) | 668 (18.0%) | 559 (24.0%) | 634 (25.4%) | ||
| Hepatic decompensation | ||||||
| Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis | 468 (13.2) | 460 (12.4) | 0.308 | 345 (14.8) | 332 (13.3) | 0.131 |
| Moderate to severe ascites | 1349 (38.0) | 1409 (38.0) | 0.955 | 972 (41.8) | 1141 (45.7) | 0.005 |
| Severe HE | 414 (11.7) | 449 (12.1) | 0.574 | 364 (15.6) | 410 (16.4) | 0.451 |
| HCC | 194 (5.5) | 190 (5.1) | 0.506 | 125 (5.4) | 106 (4.2) | 0.069 |
| Hemodialysis | 407 (11.5) | 522 (14.1) | 0.001 | 442 (19.0) | 572 (22.9) | 0.001 |
| Mechanical ventilation/life support | 172 (4.9) | 181 (4.9) | 0.956 | 236 (10.1) | 228 (9.1) | 0.240 |
| Location at transplant | <0.001 | |||||
| Home | ‐ | ‐ | 1401 (60.2) | 1329 (54.2) | ||
| Hospitalized not in ICU | ‐ | ‐ | 543 (23.3) | 714 (29.1) | ||
| ICU | ‐ | ‐ | 384 (16.5) | 411 (16.7) | ||
| US region | 0.095 | 0.192 | ||||
| Northeast | 466 (13.1) | 488 (13.2) | 223 (9.6) | 290 (11.6) | ||
| Mid‐Atlantic | 433 (12.2) | 446 (12.0) | 284 (12.2) | 293 (11.7) | ||
| Southeast | 743 (21.0) | 809 (21.8) | 551 (23.7) | 589 (23.6) | ||
| North Midwest | 827 (23.3) | 792 (21.3) | 594 (25.5) | 597 (23.9) | ||
| South Midwest | 435 (12.3) | 438 (11.8) | 258 (11.1) | 253 (10.1) | ||
| Southwest | 528 (14.9) | 634 (17.1) | 342 (14.7) | 398 (16.0) | ||
| Northwest | 114 (3.2) | 103 (2.8) | 76 (3.3) | 75 (3.0) | ||
| SAH, n | 132 | 207 | 110 | 168 | ||
| Median age [IQR] (years) | 41 [12.5] | 40 [14] | 0.363 | 41 [12] | 39.5 [14] | 0.419 |
| Age groups (years) | 0.426 | 0.252 | ||||
| 18‐34 | 25 (18.9) | 48 (23.2) | 20 (18.2) | 38 (22.6) | ||
| 35‐50 | 82 (62.1) | 110 (53.1) | 69 (62.7) | 89 (53.0) | ||
| 50‐64 | 24 (18.2) | 46 (22.2) | 21 (19.1) | 38 (22.6) | ||
| >65 | 1 (0.8) | 3 (1.4) | 0 (0) | 3 (1.8) | ||
| MELD‐Na score | 0.244 | 0.284 | ||||
| 25‐29 | 10 (8.5) | 15 (8.1%) | 9 (9.1) | 18 (11.4) | ||
| 30‐34 | 22 (18.6) | 50 (27.0%) | 14 (14.1) | 33 (20.9) | ||
| >35 | 86 (72.9) | 120 (64.9%) | 76 (76.8) | 107 (67.7) | ||
*
Values (age, MELD‐Na, hepatic decompensation, hemodialysis, and mechanical ventilation/life support) for wait‐list additions reported at time of listing or wait‐list registration.
†
Values (age, MELD‐Na, hepatic decompensation, hemodialysis, and mechanical ventilation/life support) for LT recipient reported at time of transplant.
Abbreviation: IQR, interquartile range.