BackgroundMany complications following liver transplantation are linked to ischemia‐reperfusion injury. Activation of the pregnane X receptor (PXR) has been shown to alleviate this process in animal models. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the effect of early activation of human PXR (hPXR) on postoperative complications and survival following liver transplantation.MethodsThe study included deceased donor liver transplants at a single center over 6 years. Estimated hPXR activation value on day 7 (EPAV7) was calculated per patient based on potency/total dose of known hPXR‐activating drugs administered in the first week post‐transplantation. Patients were divided into low and high hPXR activation groups based on EPAV7.ResultsOverall, 240 liver transplants were included. Average EPAV7 was significantly lower in patients who developed anastomotic biliary strictures (17.7 ± 5.5 vs 35.1 ± 5.7 in stricture‐free patients; P = .03) and sepsis (16.4 ± 7.1 vs 34.9 ± 5.5; P = .04). Patient survival was significantly improved in the high hPXR group (5‐year survival: 88.7% ± 3.8% versus 70.7% ± 5.8% [low hPXR]; P = .023). Regression analysis identified EPAV7 as a significant independent predictor of patient survival.ConclusionhPXR activation within the first week of liver transplantation is a prognostic indicator of patient survival, possibly due to the associated lower biliary stricture and infection rates.

ObjectiveChronic liver disease continues to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality yet remains challenging to prognosticate. This has been one of the barriers to implementing palliative care, particularly at an early stage. The Bristol Prognostic Score (BPS) was developed to identify patients with life expectancy less than 12 months and to act as a trigger for referral to palliative care services. This study retrospectively evaluated the BPS in a cohort of patients admitted to three Scottish hospitals.MethodRoutinely collated healthcare data were used to obtain demographics, BPS and analyse 1-year mortality for patients with decompensated liver disease admitted to three gastroenterology units over two 90-day periods. Statistical analysis was undertaken to assess performance of BPS in predicting mortality.Results276 patients were included in the final analysis. Participants tended to be late middle-aged men, socioeconomically deprived and have alcohol-related liver disease. A similar proportion was BPS+ve (>3) in this study compared with the original Bristol cohort though had more hospital admissions, higher ongoing alcohol use and poorer performance status. BPS performed poorer in this non-Bristol group with sensitivity 54.9% (72.2% in original study), specificity 58% (83.8%) and positive predictive value (PPV) 43.4% (81.3%).ConclusionBPS was unable to accurately predict mortality in this Scottish cohort. This highlights the ongoing challenge of prognostication in patients with chronic liver disease, furthering the call for more work in this field.

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