Adult liver transplantation in the USA

Abstract

Liver transplantation is the only definitive treatment option for patients dying of liver failure. The growing population of patients with liver disease means that more transplants will be performed. As these patients now live longer lives, it is crucial that clinicians have a basic understanding of the process and outcomes.

The Portrait of an Adult Liver Transplant Recipient in the United States From 1987 to 2013

“…Despite the small number of annual procedures (20 000 a year in the United States), HCT hospitalization spending increased from $684 million to $1.3 billion between 2004 and 2007, placing it among the procedures with the most rapid spending increases. 1 Those increases reflect rising procedure volume and rising hospitalization costs. 1 Prior research 2 on HCT costs has been limited to single-institution analyses.…”

Risk Factors for Alcohol Relapse Following Orthotopic Liver Transplantation: A Systematic Review

“…4 More than 40,000 patients with chronic liver disease annually show progression to ESLD which without transplantation often leads to liver failure and death. 5 Each year, approximately 5000-6000 people in the United States with ESLD receive new livers with 1-, 3-, and 5-year patient survival rates of 87%, 78%, and 73%, respectively. 6 A total of 5805 people underwent OLT in 2011, 1024 (17.6%) of whom had alcoholic liver disease (ALD) as their primary cause of liver disease.…”

Untitled

“…The plan to perform revision transplant was debated because sepsis is an absolute contraindication for liver transplant. 9 Nevertheless, revision transplant was performed despite active sepsis, and he had marked improvement in his clinical condition and resolution of sepsis. The most likely source of infection was the primary transplanted liver.…”