Is Obesity Associated With Better Liver Transplant Outcomes? A Retrospective Study of Hospital Length of Stay and Mortality Following Liver Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: The rise in obesity in the United States, along with improvements in antiviral therapies, has led to an increase in the number of obese patients receiving liver transplants. Currently, obesity is a relative contraindication for liver transplant, although exact body mass index (BMI) limits continue to be debated. Studies conflict regarding outcomes in obese patients, while some argue that BMI should not be used as an exclusion criterion at all. Therefore, this retrospective study-utilizing a large national database-seeks to elucidate the association between recipient BMI and hospital length of stay and mortality following liver transplant. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted using the United Network for Organ Sharing Standard Transplant Analysis and Research database. Fine-Gray competing risk regressions were used to explore the association between BMI and rate of discharge, which varies inversely with length of stay. In our model, subdistribution hazard ratio (SHR) represented the relative change in discharge rate compared to normal BMI, with in-hospital death was considered as a competing event for live discharge. Cox proportional hazard models were built to assess the association of BMI category on all-cause mortality after liver transplantation. Cluster-robust standard errors were used in all analyses to construct confidence intervals. RESULTS: Within the final sample (n = 47,038), overweight (≥25 and <30 kg/m2) patients comprised the largest BMI group (34.7%). The competing risk regression model showed an association for increased length of stay among underweight (SHR = 0.82, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.77-0.89; P < .001) and class 3 obesity patients (SHR = 0.88, 95% CI, 0.83-0.94; P < .001), while overweight (SHR = 1.05, 95% CI, 1.03-1.08; P < .001) and class 1 obesity (SHR = 1.04, 95% CI, 1.01-1.07; P = .01) were associated with decreased length of stay. When the sample excluded patients with low pretransplant functional status, however, length of stay was not significantly shorter for overweight and obesity class 1 patients. Cox proportional hazard models demonstrated increased survival among overweight, class 1 and class 2 obesity patients and decreased survival among underweight patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide evidence that overweight and obesity class 1 are associated with decreased length of stay and mortality following liver transplant, while underweight and obesity class 3 are associated with prolonged length of stay. Pretransplant functional status may contribute to outcomes for overweight and class 1 obese patients, which necessitates continued investigation of the isolated impact of BMI in those who have had a liver transplant.

Preoperative risk factors for massive transfusion, prolonged ventilation requirements, and mortality in patients undergoing liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Despite improvements in techniques and management of liver transplant patients, numerous perioperative complications that contribute to perioperative mortality remain. Models to predict intraoperative massive blood transfusion, prolonged mechanical ventilation, or in-hospital mortality in liver transplant recipients have not been identified. In this study we aim to identify preoperative factors associated with the above mentioned complications. METHODS: A retrospective observational analysis was conducted on data collected from 124 orthotopic liver transplants performed at a single institution between 2014 and 2017. A multivariable logistic regression using backwards elimination was performed for three defined outcomes (massive transfusion ≥ 10 units packed red blood cells (PRBC), prolonged mechanical ventilation > 24 h, and in-hospital mortality) to identify associations with preoperative characteristics. RESULTS: Statistically significant (P < 0.05) associations with massive transfusion ≥ 10 units PRBC were hepatocellular carcinoma and preoperative transfusion of PRBC. Significant associations with prolonged mechanical ventilation > 24 h were hepatitis C, alcoholic hepatitis, elevated preoperative ALT, and hepatorenal syndrome. Male gender was protective for requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation. End-stage renal disease and hepatitis B were significantly associated with increased in-hospital mortality. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified risk factors associated with common perioperative complications of liver transplantation. These factors may assist practitioners in risk stratification and may form the basis for further investigations of potential interventions to mitigate these risks.

Prediction Model for Extended Hospital Stay Among Medicare Beneficiaries After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

OBJECTIVE: The authors conducted a retrospective analysis to develop a predictive model consisting of factors associated with extended hospital stay among Medicare beneficiaries undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Multi-institutional. PARTICIPANTS: Data were obtained from the National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample registry from 2013 to 2014 over a 2-year period. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The primary outcome was extended hospital stay, which was defined as an inpatient stay greater than 75th percentile for the cohort (≥5 d), among Medicare beneficiaries (fee-for-service and managed care) undergoing PCI. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was built on a training set to develop the predictive model. The authors evaluated model performance with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and performed k-folds cross-validation to calculate the average AUC. The final analysis included 91,880 patients. Inpatient hospital length of stay ranged from 0 to 247 days, with 3 and 5 days as the median and 3rd quartile hospital stay, respectively. The final multivariable analysis suggested that sociodemographic variables, hospital-related factors, and comorbidities were associated with a greater odds of extended hospital stay (all p < 0.05). The use of PCI with drug-eluting stent was associated with a 31% decrease in extended hospital stay (odds ratio 0.69, 95% confidence interval 0.66-0.72; p < 0.001). Model discrimination was deemed excellent with an AUC (95% confidence interval) of 0.814 (0.811-0.817) and 0.809 (0.799-0.819) for the training and testing sets, respectively. CONCLUSION: The authors' predictive model identified risk factors that have a higher probability of extended hospital stay. This model can be used to improve periprocedural optimization and improved discharge planning, which may help to decrease costs associated with PCIs. Management of Medicare beneficiaries after PCI calls for a multidisciplinary approach among healthcare teams and hospital administrators.

Methylene blue is associated with poor outcomes in vasoplegic shock.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether patients who received methylene blue as treatment for vasoplegia during cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass had decreased morbidity and mortality. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. SETTING: Single tertiary care university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Adult patients who suffered from vasoplegia and underwent all types of cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass at this institution between 2007 and 2008. INTERVENTIONS: With IRB approval, the authors reviewed the charts of the identified patients and divided them into 2 groups based on whether they had received methylene blue. Two hundred twenty-six patients were identified who met the inclusion criteria for the study. Fifty-seven of these patients had received methylene blue for vasoplegia. The authors collected data on preoperative and intraoperative variables as well as outcomes. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The patients who received methylene blue had higher rates of in-hospital mortality, a compilation of morbidities, as well as renal failure and hyperbilirubinemia. A multiple logistic regression model demonstrated that receiving methylene blue was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality (p value: 0.007, OR 4.26, 95% CI: 1.49-12.12), compilation of morbidities (p value: 0.001, OR 4.80, 95% CI: 1.85-12.43), and hyperbilirubinemia (p value:<0.001, OR 6.58, 95% CI: 2.91-14.89). Using propensity score matching, the association with morbidity was again seen but the association with mortality was not found. CONCLUSIONS: The current study identified the use of methylene blue as treatment for vasoplegia to be independently associated with poor outcomes. While further studies are required, a thorough risk-benefit analysis should be applied before using methylene blue and, perhaps, it should be relegated to rescue use and not as first-line therapy.