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Published on: March 27, 2018
Disparity in utilization of combined kidney-liver transplantation in the United States
1Departments of Medicine, Hines VA Hospital, Hines, IL and Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, USA.
Background:
Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is performed as a definitive treatment of acute and chronic liver failure. The prevalence of acute and chronic kidney diseases is substantially higher in this population secondary to diverse etiologies. Combined kidney-liver transplantation (CKLT) is widely performed in some centers, even though there are no definitive studies which support or contradict this practice.
Methods:
We comprehensively reviewed OLT as well as CKLT data from US transplant centers provided by United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS).
Results:
The incidence of CKLT as a percentage of total OLTs performed has been increasing, especially in the post-MELD era (2002 and after). Moreover, there is a great disparity among centers in regard to percentage of CKLTs to total OLTs.
Conclusion:
We conclude that there is much difference of opinion among US transplant centers as to indications for CKLT. A more scientific approach to this problem including studies to assess the role of kidney biopsy in determining renal outcome after OLT is needed.
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