Pretransplant Renal Dysfunction Negatively Affects Prognosis After Living Donor Liver Transplantation: A Single-Center Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background: To evaluate the influence of preoperative renal function on prognosis after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT).

Methods: Living donor liver transplantation cases were categorized into 3 groups as follows: renal failure with hemodialysis (HD; n = 42), renal dysfunction (RD; n = 94) (glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/1.73 m²), and normal renal function (NF; n = 421). The study used no prisoners, and participants were neither coerced nor paid. The manuscript complies with the Helsinki Congress and the Declaration of Istanbul.

Results: Five-year overall survival (OS) rates were 59.0%, 69.3%, and 80.0% in the HD, RD, and NF groups, respectively (P < .01). The frequency of bacteremia within 90 days after LDLT was 76.2%, 37.2%, and 34.7%, respectively (P < .01 in HD vs RD and HD vs NF). Patients with bacteremia showed a worse outcome than those without (1-year OS, 65.6% vs 93.3%), thus corroborating the poor prognosis in the HD group. The high frequency of bacteremia in the HD group was mainly attributable to health care-associated bacterium, such as coagulase-negative Staphylococci, Enterococcus spp., and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In the HD group, HD was started within 50 days before LDLT for acute renal failure in 35 patients, of which 29 (82.9%) successfully withdrew from HD after LDLT and demonstrated better prognosis (1-year OS, 69.0% vs 16.7%) than those who continued HD.

Conclusions: Preoperative renal dysfunction is associated with poor prognosis after LDLT, possibly due to a high incidence of health care-associated bacteremia.