Background@#Prevention of
osteoporosis and
bone fracture is one of the important issues for
liver transplant recipients because a long
history of
liver disease and lifelong use of
immunosuppressants, including
corticosteroids, may cause these
diseases. In this study, we aimed to analyze
liver recipient
bone status, 10-year fracture
risk, and medication
history. @*
Methods@#The
electronic medical records of
adult patients aged >40 years
who received
liver transplantation at
Seoul National
University Bundang
Hospital between January 2009 and June 2017 were reviewed retrospectively. On the basis of their
bone mineral density and fracture
history, their fracture
risks were analyzed using the Korean fracture
risk assessment tool. @*Results@#A total of 57
liver transplant recipients were treated with
corticosteroids during a mean of 8.8 months after
transplantation. 30
patients (52.6%) showed
bone metabolism dysfunction such as
osteopenia or
osteoporosis. The 10-year
femoral fracture risk was 2.1%, and
dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry monitoring was performed, including right before
liver transplantation every 27.5±19.2 months. The mean femoral
bone mineral density decreased by −7.2%±7.3%. Four
patients (7.0%) had a fracture after
liver transplantation.
Osteoporotic fracture occurred in 3
patients with
osteoporosis (25.0%). Among the
osteopenia patients with moderate fracture
risk who were not treated with
bisphosphonate, 1
patient (12.5%) had a
history of
bone fracture after
liver transplantation. @*Conclusions@#Considering the deterioration of
bone density and moderate fracture
risk, medication for
osteoporosis should be prescribed to
liver transplant recipients with regular
monitoring of
bone density after
transplantation.