Serological profile of pretransplantation liver patients

A liver transplantation is the first choice of treatment for patients with hepatic insufficiency due to chronic diseases. Infections in the postoperative period represent one of the main causes of mortality in these cases. However, few articles have evaluated the predominance of certain infectious diseases and their influence on postoperative mortality.

We retrospectively evaluated the medical records of 236 patients who underwent liver transplantation from January 1997 to January 2007. In these records we checked the serological profiles for these diseases: toxoplasmosis, syphilis, human T lymphotropic virus (HTLV) I and II infection, Chagas disease, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, paracoccidioidomycosis, tuberculosis, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, cytomegalovirus (CMV), and mononucleosis (Epstein-Barr virus [EBV]). The statistical analysis was performed by table frequencies.

CMV showed positivity (CMV-IgG) in 94.7% of patients, 95.8% for EBV, 33.3% for toxoplasmosis, 47.9% for hepatitis C, and 5% for hepatitis B.

Our analysis showed the importance of serological investigations and diagnostic examinations before the transplantation procedure, seeking to minimize possible reactivation of the disease after the use of immunosuppression drugs, particularly in the first 6 months after transplantation, or even to avoid a primary infection.