Barriers for Liver Transplant in Patients with Alcohol-Related Hepatitis

Liver transplantation (LT) for alcohol-related liver disease has historically been reserved for patients who have been six months abstinent. Given the increasing incidence of alcohol-related hepatitis (AH) and dismal survival in patients who fail medical therapy, transplant centers are extending their acceptance criteria for patients with less than 6 months of sobriety. We sought to determine the barriers for listing.

We conducted a retrospective chart review of all inpatient LT referrals for a diagnosis of AH between September 2019 and December 2020. LT evaluations were performed by a multidisciplinary team. Descriptive statistics were reported using mean and standard deviation (SD) or percentage where appropriate.

During our study period, 82 patients were evaluated for LT. Of these 82 patients, 62 were declined for liver transplantation. The mean (SD) age of the 62-patient cohort was 44 years (10.7), and most patients were men. The mean (SD) number of reasons for denial was 2 (0.97). Four patients had medical contraindications for transplant. Twenty-seven (44%) and 35 (56%) patients lacked insight and were at risk of alcohol relapse, respectively. Forty-three (69%) and fourteen (22.5%) patients had insufficient social support and an inability to maintain a therapeutic relationship with the transplant team, respectively.

Patients are more likely denied for psychosocial factors than medical comorbidities. The majority were due to lack of insight, insufficient social support, and inability to maintain a therapeutic relationship with the transplant team. Resources should be allocated to address these issues.