Liver grafts from hepatitis B surface antigen-positive donors: A review of the literature

The scarcity of available organs and the gap between supply and demand continue to be the main limitations of liver transplantation. To relieve the organ shortage, current transplant strategies have implemented extended criteria, which include the use of liver from patients with signs of past or present hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection. While the use of liver grafts from donors with evidence of past HBV infection is quite limited, some data have been collected regarding the feasibility of transplanting a liver graft from a hepatitis B surface antigen(HBs Ag) positive donor. The aim of the present work was to review the literature regarding liver transplants from HBs Ag-positive donors. A total of 17 studies were identified by a search in Medline. To date, HBs Ag positive grafts have preferentially been allocated to HBs Ag positive recipients. The large majority of these patients continue to be HBs Ag positive despite the use of immunoglobulin, and infection prevention can only be guaranteed by using antiviral prophylaxis. Although serological persistence is evident, no significant HBV-related disease has been observed, except in patients coinfected with delta virus. Consistently less data are available for HBs Ag negative recipients, although they are mostly promising. HBs Agpositive grafts could be an additional organ source for liver transplantation, provided that the risk of reinfection/reactivation is properly prevented.

Early acute kidney injury after liver transplantation: Predisposing factors and clinical implications

AIM To investigate the additional clinical impact of hepatic ischaemia reperfusion injury(HIRI) on patients sustaining acute kidney injury(AKI) following liver transplantation.METHODS This was a single-centre retrospective study of consecutive adult patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation(OLT) between January 2013 and June 2014. Early AKI was identified by measuring serum creatinine at 24 h post OLT(> 1.5 × baseline) or by the use of continuous veno-venous haemofiltration(CVVHF) during the early post-operative period. Patients with and without AKI were compared to identify risk factors associated with this complication. Peak serum aspartate aminotransferase(AST) within 24 h post-OLT was used as a surrogate marker for HIRI and severity was classified as minor(< 1000 IU/L), moderate(1000-5000 IU/L) or severe(> 5000 IU/L). The impact on time to extubation, intensive care length of stay, incidence of chronic renal failure and 90-d mortality were examined firstly for each of the two complications(AKI and HIRI) alone and then as a combined outcome. RESULTS Out of the 116 patients included in the study, 50% developed AKI, 24% required CVVHF and 70% sustainedmoderate or severe HIRI. Median peak AST levels were 1248 IU/L and 2059 IU/L in the No AKI and AKI groups respectively(P = 0.0003). Furthermore, peak serum AST was the only consistent predictor of AKI on multivariate analysis P = 0.02. AKI and HIRI were individually associated with a longer time to extubation, increased length of intensive care unit stay and reduced survival. However, the patients who sustained both AKI and moderate or severe HIRI had a longer median time to extubation(P < 0.001) and intensive care length of stay(P = 0.001) than those with either complication alone. Ninety-day survival in the group sustaining both AKI and moderate or severe HIRI was 89%, compared to 100% in the groups with either or neither complication(P = 0.049). CONCLUSION HIRI has an important role in the development of AKI post-OLT and has a negative impact on patient outcomes, especially when occurring alongside AKI.