Mortality Analysis of Acute Liver Failure in Uruguay.

BACKGROUND: Acute liver failure (ALF) is a syndrome with high mortality. OBJECTIVE: Describe characteristics and outcomes of patients with ALF in Uruguay, and identify factors associated with mortality. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 33 patients with ALF was performed between 2009 and 2017. RESULTS: The patients' median age was 43 years, and 64% were women. Average Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score at admission was 33. The median referral time to the liver transplant (LT) center was 7 days. The most common etiologies were viral hepatitis (27%), indeterminate (21%), autoimmune (18%), and Wilson disease (15%). Overall mortality was 52% (71% of transplanted and 46% of nontransplanted patients). Dead patients had higher referral time (10 vs 4 days, P = .008), higher MELD scores at admission (37 vs 28) and highest achieved MELD scores (42 vs 29; P < .001), and higher encephalopathy grade III to IV (94% vs 25%, P < .001) than survivors. Patients without LT criteria (n = 4) had lower MELD score at admission (25 vs 34, P = .001) and highest achieved MELD score (27 vs 37, P = .008) compared with the others. Patients with LT criteria but contraindications (n = 7) had higher MELD scores at admission (38 vs 31, P = .02), highest achieved MELD scores (41 vs 34, P = .03), and longer referral time (10 days) than those without contraindications (3.5 days) or those without LT criteria (7.5 days, P = .02). Twenty-two patients were listed; LT was performed in 7, with a median time on waiting list of 6 days. CONCLUSIONS: ALF in Uruguay has high mortality associated with delayed referral to the LT center, MELD score, and encephalopathy. The long waiting times to transplantation might influence mortality.

Risk Factors of Mortality After Liver Transplantation in Uruguay.

INTRODUCTION: Identification of predictive factors of mortality in a liver transplant (LT) program optimizes patient selection and allocation of organs. OBJECTIVE: To determine survival rates and predictive factors of mortality after LT in the National Liver Transplant Program of Uruguay. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted analyzing data prospectively collected into a multidisciplinary database. All patients transplanted since the beginning of the program on July 2009 to April 2017 were included (n = 148). Twenty-nine factors were analyzed through the univariate Kaplan-Meier model. A Cox regression model was used in the multivariate analysis to identify the independent prognostic factors for survival. RESULTS: Overall survival was 92%, 87%, and 78% at discharge, 1 year, and 3 years, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves were significantly lower in: recipients aged >60 years, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score >21, LT due to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and acute liver failure (ALF), donors with comorbidities, intraoperative blood loss beyond the median (>2350 mL), red blood cell transfusion requirement beyond the median (>1254 mL), intraoperative complications, delay of extubation, invasive bacterial, and fungal infection after LT and stay in critical care unit >4 days. The Cox regression model (likelihood ratio test, P = 1.976 e-06) identified the following independent prognostic factors for survival: LT for HCC (hazard ratio [HR] 4.511; P = .001) and ALF (HR 6.346; P = .004), donors with comorbidities (HR 2.354; P = .041), intraoperative complications (HR 2.707; P = .027), and invasive fungal infections (HR 3.281; P = .025). CONCLUSION: The survival rates of LT patients as well as the mortality-associated factors are similar to those reported in the international literature.

Impact of a Multimodal Approach in Prevention of Surgical Site Infection in Hepatic Transplant Recipients.

INTRODUCTION: In liver transplant (LT) recipients, surgical site infection (SSI) represents an important cause of morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE: This study measures the impact of a multimodal approach to the incidence of surgical site infection in LT recipients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All of the LT recipients in our department were registered on the national database in solid organ transplant. A study was performed in two analytical-interventional phases. Phase 1 took place between July 14, 2009, and February 20, 2014. Phase 2 took place between February 21, 2014, and July 15, 2015. The multimodal change implemented during phase 1 was that 0.5% alcoholic chlorhexidine and ether were applied to the surgical field; surgical prophylaxis was primarily with ampicillin/sulbactam plus cefazolin. In phase 2, 2% alcoholic chlorhexidine alone was applied to the surgical field. The prior standard prophylaxis was changed to piperacillin tazobactam administered during surgery as a continuous infusion of 13.5 g over 8 hours with a pre-incision loading dose of 4.5 g. The loading dose of piperacillin tazobactam was combined with a single dose of gentamicin of 5 mg/kg. RESULTS: One hundred eight patients have received transplants since the start of the program: 82 patients during phase one and 26 patients during phase two. During phase 1, 13 cases of SSI were recorded, representing a rate of 15.85 per 100 transplants. Sixteen micro-organisms were isolated during phase 1, of which 12 corresponded to gram-negative bacilli. With regard to resistance profiles, 13 showed multidrug resistant and extensively drug resistant profiles. During phase 2, no cases of SSI were recorded (relative risk = 0.158 [95% confidence interval 0.0873-0.255], P = .0352]. CONCLUSION: A multimodal approach allowed for the reduction of the incidence of SSI in LTs and offered a protective strategy.