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Published on: August 17, 2022
Life Expectancy After Liver Transplantation for Alcoholic Cirrhosis
Robert M Shavelle1, Rachel C Saur1, Ji Hun Kwak1
1Life Expectancy Project, San Francisco, California, USA.
Background:
Alcohol-associated liver disease is the leading cause of liver transplantation in the western world. For these patients we calculated life expectancies both at time of transplant and several years later, stratified by key risk factors, and determined if survival has improved in recent years.
Methods:
Data on 14 962 patients with alcohol-associated liver disease who underwent liver transplantation in the MELD era (2002-2018) from the United States Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database were analyzed using the Cox proportional hazards regression model and life table methods.
Results:
Demographic and past medical history factors related to survival were patient age, presence of diabetes or severe hepatic encephalopathy, and length of hospital stay. Survival improved over the study period, at roughly 3% per calendar year during the first 5 years posttransplant and 1% per year thereafter.
Conclusions:
Life expectancy in transplanted patients with alcohol-associated liver disease was much reduced from normal, and varied according to age, medical risk factors, and functional status. Survival improved modestly over the study period. Information on patient longevity can be helpful in making treatment decisions.
