Key Points 1. Critical clinical outcomes for pediatric liver transplantation (LT) recipients include (1) patient and graft survival, (2) complications (immune and nonimmune) of chronic immunosuppressive medications, and (3) long-term graft function. 2. Recurrence of malignancy, sepsis, and posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder account for more than 65% of deaths occurring more than 1 year after LT. 3. Chronic rejection, late hepatic artery thrombosis, and biliary strictures account for 70% of graft loss occurring more than 1 year after LT. 4. Late histological changes in the allograft are emerging as a common problem in patients more than 5 years after LT. The pathogenesis of these findings and the impact on graft survival remain to be determined. Liver Transpl 15: S6-S11, 2009.Liver transplantation (LT) is the standard of care for children with end-stage, irreversible liver disease. The best outcomes occur when pediatric LT recipients maintain graft function while immune and nonimmune complications related to immunosuppressive medications are minimized. Patient survival, graft survival, and graft function, including biliary and vascular complications, infections, and posttransplant hepatitis and fibrosis, are critical outcomes. It is also essential to acknowledge and address issues related to nonimmune complications of immunosuppression (specifically renal, cardiovascular, and cancer risk).
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PATIENT AND GRAFT SURVIVAL FROM THE TIME OF LISTING FOR LTApproximately 88% of patients less than 18 years old who are listed for transplantation ultimately undergo LT (Fig. 1). A subgroup of patients is removed from the waiting list because of improvements in the underlying condition or because transplantation is considered futile, and a similar proportion of patients die while on the waiting list. Within the first 90 days after LT, 5% to 7% die, and another 5% of patients undergo retransplantation. By the end of 3 years, about 65% of those originally listed for LT are alive with their primary transplant.3-6 No significant differences in graft and patient survival are detected when patients are grouped by age (Figs. 2 and 3); this reflects, at least in part, the significant improvements in operative techniques and innovations in the use of technical variant organs that have occurred over recent years. To target areas for further research, it makes sense to first identify causes for allograft loss and patient death.
LATE ALLOGRAFT LOSS AND LATE DEATHWallot et al.7 described the outcomes of 376 patients from a single center who underwent primary LT between 1984 and 1998 and who survived more than 3 months after LT. Immunosuppression varied over time, consisting initially of cyclosporine, prednisone, and azathioprine and ultimately of tacrolimus and dual or triple therapy. The 1-, 5-, and 10-year actuarial graft survival rates were 94.6%, 87.3%, and 86