Background:We sought to identify factors that are associated with LOS following pediatric (<18 years) liver transplantation in order to provide personalized counseling and discharge planning for recipients and their families.
Methods:We identified 2726 infants (≤24 months) and 3210 children (>24 months) who underwent pediatric liver-only transplantation from 2002-2017 using the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. We used multilevel multivariable negative binomial regression to analyze associations between LOS and recipient and donor characteristics and calculated the MLOSR to quantify heterogeneity in LOS across centers.
Results:In infants, the median LOS (IQR) was 19 (13-32) days. Hospitalization prior to transplant (ICU ratio: 1.46 1.59 1.70 ; non-ICU ratio: 1.08 1.16 1.23 ), public insurance (ratio: 1.03 1.09 1.15 ), and a segmental graft (ratio: 1.08 1.15 1.22 ) were associated with a longer LOS; thus, we would expect a 1.59-fold longer LOS in an infant admitted to the ICU compared to a non-hospitalized infant with similar characteristics. In children, the median LOS (IQR) was 13 (9-21) days. Hospitalization prior to transplant (ICU ratio: 1.49 1.62 1.77 ; non-ICU ratio: 1.34 1.44 1.56 ), public insurance (ratio: 1.02 1.07 1.13 ), a segmental graft (ratio: 1.20 1.27 1.35 ), a living donor graft (ratio: 1.27 1.38 1.51 ), and obesity (ratio: 1.03 1.10 1.17 ) were associated with a longer LOS. The MLOSR was 1.25 in infants and 1.26 in children, meaning if an infant received a transplant at another center with a longer LOS, we would expect a 1.25-fold difference in LOS driven by center practices alone.
Conclusions:While center-level practices account for substantial variation in LOS, consideration of donor and recipient factors can help clinicians provide more personalized counseling for families of pediatric liver transplant candidates. K E Y W O R D S length of stay, liver transplantation, MELD, pediatric, PELD Approximately 600 children with ESLD will undergo liver transplantation annually in the United States, with priority given to the sickest candidates as determined by the PELD/MELD score. 1 Understanding hospital LOS is necessary to provide more personalized counseling and discharge planning for pediatric liver transplant recipients and their families. 2 From a more practical perspective, understanding LOS is important for families when considering how duration of hospitalization will affect other aspects of their lives, such as arranging childcare for siblings, requesting time off work, and coordinating travel between the transplant center and the patient's home. 3 Most importantly, a prolonged hospitalization places pediatric liver transplant recipient at risk for developing hospital-acquired infections.Finally, from a financial perspective, a longer LOS incurs more costs; a longer LOS in adult liver transplant recipients has been tied to increasing costs and resource utilization. 4A previous multi-center study from the pre-PELD/MELD era of pediatric liver transplantation found that recipients...