Influence of Obesity on Liver Transplantation Outcomes

The aim of this work was to determine the impact of obesity on the morbidity and mortality of liver transplantation (LT) recipients.

A single-center, observational-cohort, retrospective study was conducted in patients undergoing LT from January 2008 to December 2014 to compare complications and survival between those with body mass index (BMI) <35 kg/m² and those with BMI ≥35 kg/m².

The study included 170 patients: 162 (95.3%) with BMI <35 kg/m² and 8 (4.7%) with BMI ≥35 kg/m². The groups significantly differed in overall mortality and graft survival: The risk of death was 3.54-fold higher (95% confidence interval, 1.39-9.03) and the mean graft survival was shorter (61 vs 21 mo; P = .001) in the group with BMI ≥35 kg/m². The groups did not significantly differ in rates of biliary complications, arterial and portal vein thrombosis, retransplantation or reintervention, intraoperative requirement for blood products, length of intensive care unit stay, or post-reperfusion syndrome or rejection rates.

Although no significant differences were found between these groups in post-transplantation complications, BMI ≥35 kg/m² emerged as a mortality risk factor in these patients.