[Risk factors for orthotopic liver transplantation failure in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil]. / Fatores de risco para a falência do transplante ortotópico de fígado no Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.

Risk factors for failure of liver transplantation from cadaveric donors were investigated in this retrospective study using data from medical records of patients in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, who were submitted to liver transplantation for the first time from January 1999 to July 2003 and were over 15 years of age at the time of surgery. Some 13% of failures occurred in the first month, 11% from 2 to 12 months, and 5% after 12 months; 88% of failures resulted in death and 12% in retransplantation. In the multivariate models, rate ratios for failure were higher for total family income less than 10 times the minimum wage, recipient's age > 45 years, non-whites, high clinical risk, and donor's age > or = 56 years. Female gender showed an effect in the unadjusted model only. Special attention to patients at increased risk, with income support for those with low family income, and early diagnosis of the need for transplantation may improve the success of liver transplantation.