A study on the timing of liver transplantation and factors influencing prognosis in patients of acute liver failure / 中华普通外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the optimal timing of liver transplantation for acute liver failure,and analyze relative risk factors affecting patients' prognosis.Methods We retrospectively analyze perioperative clinical data of 50 patients suffering from acute liver failure who underwent liver transplantation between March 2005 and June 2010 in Organ Transplantation Center,the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.Patients were divided into survival group and death group.Clinical data before operation were collected and analyzed by univariate and multivariate analysis,respectively.Risk factors influencing the perioperative mortality were selected and were used to direct the operation time.Results There were 50 patients who underwent liver transplantation and 11 cases died during perioperative phase.Five patients died of respiratory infection,three of acute renal failure,one of digestive tract hemorrhage,one of primary allograft failure and one of multiple organ failure.The perioperative,one-year and three-year survival rate were 78％,74％ and 72％ respectively.In the univariate analysis,age,bilirubin level,prothrombin time,creatinine level,grade of encephalopathy and MELD score were found to be significantly different between survival group and death group.The multivariate analysis revealed that age≥65 y,INR ≥3.5,creatinine level ≥ 2.5 mg/dl and MELD score ≥ 40 were independent risk factors affecting survival.Conclusions Liver transplantation is an effective treatment of choice for acute liver failure.Appropriate timing of transplantation helps achieve a high survival rate.