Outcomes of Wait-Listed Liver Transplant (LT) Candidates with Chronic Liver Disease (CLD) in the United States: The Impact of Model of End Stage Liver Disease (MELD) Scores and Disease Etiology

End-stage liver disease is responsible for 30,000 deaths per year in the United States alone, and it is continuing to increase every year. With liver transplantation the only curative treatment currently available, new therapies are in great demand. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) offer an opportunity to both treat liver inflammatory damage, as well as reverse some of the changes that occur following chronic liver injury. With the ability to regulate both the innate and adaptive immune system, as well as both inhibit and promote apoptosis of effector inflammatory cells, there are numerous therapeutic opportunities for MSC in acute and chronic liver disease. This article critically appraises the potential therapeutic roles of MSC in liver disease, as well as the barriers to their adoption into clinical practice.

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Liver Transplantation for the Gastroenterologist

10.2310/gastro.5500 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Andreea M. Catana ◽

Michael P. Curry

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Liver Transplantation ◽

Liver Disease ◽

Organ Procurement ◽

The United States ◽

Waiting Lists ◽

Liver Graft ◽

Term Survival ◽

End Stage Liver Disease ◽

End Stage

The first liver transplantation (LT) was performed in 1963, and currently more than 65,000 people in the United States are living with a transplanted liver. In 2012, the number of adults who registered on the LT waiting list decreased for the first time since 2002; 10,143 candidates were added compared with 10,359 in 2011. LT offers long-term survival for complications of end-stage liver disease and prolongs life in properly selected patients, but problems such as donor deficit, geographic disparities, and long waiting lists remain. This overview of LT for the gastroenterologist details the indications for LT and patient selection, evaluation, liver organ allocation, prioritization for transplantation, transplantation benefit by the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD), MELD limitations, sources of liver graft, strategies employed to decrease the donor deficit, complications, and outcomes. Figures include indications for LT in Europe and the United States, Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network regions in the United States, the number of transplants and size of active waiting lists, mortality by MELD, regional disparity, patient survival rates with and without hepatitis C virus, and unadjusted patient and graft survival. Tables list LT milestones, indications for LT, contraindications for LT, minimal listing criteria for LT, criteria for LT in acute liver failure, LT evaluation process, adult recipient listing status 1A, and early posttransplantation complications. This review contains 7 highly rendered figures, 8 tables, and 46 references.

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Use of Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor Among Patients of Chronic Liver Disease in a Tertiary Hospital in Nepal: A Pilot Study

Medical Journal of Shree Birendra Hospital ◽

10.3126/mjsbh.v18i2.23038 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 53-59

Author(s):

Rahul Pathak ◽

Sabin Thapaliya

Keyword(s):

Liver Disease ◽

Chronic Liver Disease ◽

Chronic Liver ◽

Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor ◽

Colony Stimulating Factor ◽

Term Survival ◽

End Stage Liver Disease ◽

Standard Medical Therapy ◽

End Stage ◽

Stimulating Factor

Introduction: Granulocyte colony stimulating factor improves short-term survival and clinical outcomes in alcoholic hepatitis, acute-on-chronic liver failure and decompensated chronic liver disease. Our study aimed to assess survival benefit and change in Child-Turcotte-Pugh and Model For End-Stage Liver Disease scores 30 days after Granulocyte colony stimulating factor therapy in chronic liver disease patients, irrespective of their mode of presentation. Methods: This was a prospective observational study conducted in a university teaching hospital, where 25 patients with chronic liver disease were given 300 micrograms of Granulocyte colony stimulating factor subcutaneously 12 hourly plus standard medical therapy. We assessed survival until day 30. Child-Turcotte- Pugh and Model For End-Stage Liver Disease scores at enrolment and 30 days after treatment were compared. Results: 21 of 25 patients treated with Granulocyte colony stimulating factor survived at day 30. Treatment with Granulocyte colony stimulating factor reduced Child-Turcotte-Pugh score from 10.33 ± 1.24 to 8.76 ± 1.79 (p< 0.001) at day 30 and Model For End-Stage Liver Disease score from 22.10 ± 4.67 to 16.38 ± 5.52 (p < 0.001) at day 30. Conclusions: Granulocyte colony stimulating factor improves clinical outcome, Child-Turcotte-Pugh and Model For End-Stage Liver Disease scores in patients admitted with chronic liver disease for any cause. Further studies are needed to explore whether lower doses (total six doses) of Granulocyte colony stimulating factor are as effective as higher doses (total 10 doses).

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