Inferior outcomes of liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma during early-COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

BACKGROUND Early in the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic,there was a significant impact on routine medical care in the United States,including in fields of transplantation and oncology.AIM To analyze the impact and outcomes of early COVID-19 pandemic on liver transplantation(LT)for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)in the United States.METHODS WHO declared COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11,2020.We retrospectively analyzed data from the United Network for Organ Sharing(UNOS)database regarding adult LT with confirmed HCC on explant in 2019 and 2020.We defined pre-COVID period from March 11 to September 11,2019,and early-COVID period as from March 11 to September 11,2020.RESULTS Overall,23.5%fewer LT for HCC were performed during the COVID period(518 vs 675,P<0.05).This decrease was most pronounced in the months of March-April 2020 with a rebound in numbers seen from May-July 2020.Among LT recipients for HCC,concurrent diagnosis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis significantly increased(23 vs 16%)and alcoholic liver disease(ALD)significantly decreased(18 vs 22%)during the COVID period.Recipient age,gender,BMI,and MELD score were statistically similar between two groups,while waiting list time decreased during the COVID period(279 days vs 300 days,P=0.041).Among pathological characteristics of HCC,vascular invasion was more prominent during COVID period(P<0.01),while other features were the same.While the donor age and other characteristics remained same,the distance between donor and recipient hospitals was significantly increased(P<0.01)and donor risk index was significantly higher(1.68 vs 1.59,P<0.01)during COVID period.Among outcomes,90-day overall and graft survival were the same,but 180-day overall and graft were significantly inferior during COVID period(94.7 vs 97.0%,P=0.048).On multivariable Coxhazard regression analysis,COVID period emerged as a significant risk factor of post-transplant mortality(Hazard ratio 1.85;95%CI:1.28-2.68,P=0.001).CONCLUSION During COVID period,there was a significant decrease in LTs performed for HCC.While early postoperative outcomes of LT for HCC were same,the overall and graft survival of LTs for HCC after 180 days were significantly inferior.

Impact of utilization of hepatitis C positive organs in liver transplant:Analysis of united network for organ sharing database

BACKGROUND The utility of hepatitis C virus(HCV)organs has increased after the Food and Drug Administration approval of direct acting anti-viral(DAA)medications for the HCV treatment.The efficacy of DAA in treating HCV is nearly 100%.AIM To analyze the United Network for Organ Sharing(UNOS)database to compare the survival rates between the hepatitis C positive donors and negative recipients and hepatitis C negative donors and recipients.METHODS We analyzed the adult patients in UNOS database who underwent deceased donor liver transplant from January 2014 to December 2017.The primary endpoint was to compare the survival rates among the four groups with different hepatitis C donor and recipient status:(Group 1)Both donor and recipient negative for HCV(Group 2)Negative donor and positive recipient for HCV(Group 3)Positive donor and negative recipient for HCV(Group 4)Both positive donor and recipient for HCV.SAS 9.4 software was used for the data analysis.Kaplan Meier log rank test was used to analyze the estimated survival rates among the four groups.RESULTS A total of 24512 patients were included:Group 1:16436,Group 2:6174,Group 3:253 and Group 4:1649.The 1-year(Group 1:91.8%,Group 2:92.12%,Group 3:87%,Group 4:92.8%),2-year(Group 1:88.4%,Group 2:88.1%,Group 3:84.3%,Group 4:87.5%),3-year(Group 1:84.9%,Group 2:84.3%,Group 3:75.9%,Group 4:83.2%)survival rates showed no statistical significance among the four groups.Kaplan Meier log rank test did not show any statistical significance difference in the estimated survival rates between Group 3 vs all the other groups.CONCLUSION The survival rates in hepatitis C positive donors and negative recipients are similar as compared to both hepatitis C negative donors and recipients.This could be due to the use of DAA therapy with cure rates of nearly 100%.This study supports the use of hepatitis C positive organs in the selected group of recipients with and without HCV infection.Further long-term studies are needed to further validate these findings.

Analysis of hepatitis C virus-positive organs in liver transplantation

The authors of this study note that in liver transplantation(LT),the survival rates of hepatitis C virus(HCV)-positive donors and HCV-negative receivers are compa-rable to those of HCV-negative donors and recipients.Direct-acting antiviral(DAA)therapies have nearly 100%effectiveness in treating HCV.Between 2006 and 2016,the percentages of HCV-positive patients on the waiting list and HCVpositive LT recipients fell by 8.2 percent and 7.6 percent,respectively.Records from April 1,2014,in which the donor and receiver were both at least 18 years old and had a positive HCV status,were the only ones eligible for the study.The analysis for this study was restricted to the first transplant recorded for each patient using a data element that documented the number of prior transplants for each recipient,although some recipients appeared multiple times in the data set.HCV-positive recipients or people with fulminant hepatic failure were the main beneficiaries of primary biliary cirrhosis among HCV-positive donors.However,there is still a reticence to use HCV-positive donor organs in HCV recipients due to clinical and ethical considerations.Similar survival rates between HCV-positive donors and recipients and HCV-negative donors and receivers illustrate the efficacy of these DAA regimens.