Revisiting posttransplant survival for hepatitis C virus recipients

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most frequent indication for adult liver transplantation in Europe and United States. Posttransplantation HCV recurrence is universal and previous studies have reported a reduced survival in comparison to non-HCV recipients. We report the findings of a comparative survival analysis of adult recipients (n=12,434) with HCV from two eras using the United Network for Organ Sharing database. Cox regression modeling was used to compare both eras (A: 1994-1998 and B: 1999-2003). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year adjusted graft survivals for era A (n=5,215) and era B (n=7,519) were 80%, 69%, and 62% versus 84%, 72%, and 64%, respectively (P<0.001), whereas the 1-, 3-, and 5-year adjusted patient survivals were 86%, 77%, and 70% for era A versus 87%, 78%, and 70% for era B, respectively (P=0.79). This comparative analysis of posttransplant outcomes for HCV recipients suggests an improvement in graft survival in the latter years.