liver transplant evaluation protocols

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AASLD PRACTICE GUIDELINE AASLD Practice Guidelines: Evaluation of the Patient for Liver Transplantation Karen F. Murray and Robert L. Carithers, Jr. Preamble These recommendations provide a data-supported ap- proach. They are based on the following: (1) formal re- view and analysis of the recently published world literature on the topic [Medline search]; (2) American College of Physicians Manual for Assessing Health Prac- tices and Designing Practice Guidelines 1 ; (3) guideline policies, including the AASLD Policy on the Develop- ment and Use of Practice Guidelines and the AGA Policy Statement on Guidelines 2 ; (4) the experience of the au- thors in the specified topic. Intended for use by physicians, these recommenda- tions suggest preferred approaches to the diagnostic, ther- apeutic, and preventive aspects of care. They are intended to be flexible, in contrast to standards of care, which are inflexible policies to be followed in every case. Specific recommendations are based on relevant published infor- mation. In an attempt to characterize the quality of evi- dence supporting recommendations, the Practice Guidelines Committee of the AASLD requires a category to be assigned and reported with each recommendation (Table 1). 3 These recommendations are fully endorsed by the AASLD and the American Society of Transplanta- tion. Introduction Liver transplantation has had a profound impact on the care of patients with end-stage liver disease and is the most effective treatment for many patients with acute or chronic liver failure resulting from a variety of causes. Before transplantation, patients with advanced liver dis- ease usually died within months to years. These patients now have the opportunity for extended survival with ex- cellent quality of life after liver transplantation. 4 Further- more, the costs of liver transplants have steadily declined in recent years. 5 Most liver transplants are performed using a whole liver from a deceased donor. During transplantation, the donor liver is placed in the orthotopic position, hence the term orthotopic liver transplantation. However, because of the unique anatomical organization of the liver, donor organs can be divided and the separate parts transplanted into two recipients (split liver transplantation). 6 Using this technique, a portion of the left lobe of an adult donor organ can be transplanted into a child and the remaining portion used to transplant the liver into an adult. 7-10 Un- der ideal circumstances, a deceased donor organ also can be split and transplanted into two adult recipients. 10 The same surgical techniques can be used to facilitate trans- plantation using living donors, where only a portion of the donor liver is removed for transplantation. Living do- nor transplantation for children, using a portion of the left lobe, is a well-established procedure. 7,8 Living donor transplantation for adults, in which the donor right lobe typically is transplanted, also is performed at many trans- plant centers, although donor safety remains an ongoing concern. 11,12 Perioperative complications typically are higher with these various techniques; however, long-term patient survival seems comparable with that of deceased whole liver transplantation. 10,13 Liver transplantation is a complex, time-consuming operation that requires vascular reconstruction of the he- patic artery, the portal vein, and the hepatic venous drain- age to the inferior vena cava. Biliary reconstruction usually is accomplished using an end-to-end anastomosis of the proximal donor bile duct to the distal recipient duct; however, in recipients with diseased ducts, the do- nor duct is usually anastomosed to the jejunum using a Roux-en-Y loop. A number of complications can be an- ticipated after liver transplantation, including periopera- tive and surgical complications, immunologic and infectious disorders, and a variety of medical complica- tions. Abbreviations: AASLD, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases; MELD, model for end-stage liver disease; PBC, primary biliary cirrhosis; PSC, primary sclerosing cholangitis; CTP, Child-Turcotte-Pugh; PELD, pediatric end- stage liver disease; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCV, hepatitis C virus; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; HPS, hepatopulmonary syndrome; NASH, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. From the Division of Gastroenterology, University of Washington School of Med- icine, Seattle, WA. Received March 4, 2005; accepted March 4, 2005. Address reprint requests to: Robert L. Carithers, Jr., M.D., Division of Gastro- enterology, University of Washington School of Medicine, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Box 356174, Seattle, WA 98195-6174. E-mail: [email protected]; fax: 206-548-6706. Copyright © 2005 by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/hep.20704 Potential conflict of interest: Nothing to report. 1

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  • AASLD PRACTICE GUIDELINE

    AASLD Practice Guidelines: Evaluation of the Patientfor Liver Transplantation

    Karen F. Murray and Robert L. Carithers, Jr.

    PreambleThese recommendations provide a data-supported ap-

    proach. They are based on the following: (1) formal re-view and analysis of the recently published worldliterature on the topic [Medline search]; (2) AmericanCollege of Physicians Manual for Assessing Health Prac-tices and Designing Practice Guidelines1; (3) guidelinepolicies, including the AASLD Policy on the Develop-ment and Use of Practice Guidelines and the AGA PolicyStatement on Guidelines2; (4) the experience of the au-thors in the specified topic.

    Intended for use by physicians, these recommenda-tions suggest preferred approaches to the diagnostic, ther-apeutic, and preventive aspects of care. They are intendedto be flexible, in contrast to standards of care, which areinflexible policies to be followed in every case. Specificrecommendations are based on relevant published infor-mation. In an attempt to characterize the quality of evi-dence supporting recommendations, the PracticeGuidelines Committee of the AASLD requires a categoryto be assigned and reported with each recommendation(Table 1).3 These recommendations are fully endorsed bythe AASLD and the American Society of Transplanta-tion.

    IntroductionLiver transplantation has had a profound impact on

    the care of patients with end-stage liver disease and is themost effective treatment for many patients with acute or

    chronic liver failure resulting from a variety of causes.Before transplantation, patients with advanced liver dis-ease usually died within months to years. These patientsnow have the opportunity for extended survival with ex-cellent quality of life after liver transplantation.4 Further-more, the costs of liver transplants have steadily declinedin recent years.5

    Most liver transplants are performed using a wholeliver from a deceased donor. During transplantation, thedonor liver is placed in the orthotopic position, hence theterm orthotopic liver transplantation. However, because ofthe unique anatomical organization of the liver, donororgans can be divided and the separate parts transplantedinto two recipients (split liver transplantation).6 Usingthis technique, a portion of the left lobe of an adult donororgan can be transplanted into a child and the remainingportion used to transplant the liver into an adult.7-10 Un-der ideal circumstances, a deceased donor organ also canbe split and transplanted into two adult recipients.10 Thesame surgical techniques can be used to facilitate trans-plantation using living donors, where only a portion ofthe donor liver is removed for transplantation. Living do-nor transplantation for children, using a portion of theleft lobe, is a well-established procedure.7,8 Living donortransplantation for adults, in which the donor right lobetypically is transplanted, also is performed at many trans-plant centers, although donor safety remains an ongoingconcern.11,12 Perioperative complications typically arehigher with these various techniques; however, long-termpatient survival seems comparable with that of deceasedwhole liver transplantation.10,13

    Liver transplantation is a complex, time-consumingoperation that requires vascular reconstruction of the he-patic artery, the portal vein, and the hepatic venous drain-age to the inferior vena cava. Biliary reconstructionusually is accomplished using an end-to-end anastomosisof the proximal donor bile duct to the distal recipientduct; however, in recipients with diseased ducts, the do-nor duct is usually anastomosed to the jejunum using aRoux-en-Y loop. A number of complications can be an-ticipated after liver transplantation, including periopera-tive and surgical complications, immunologic andinfectious disorders, and a variety of medical complica-tions.

    Abbreviations: AASLD, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases;MELD, model for end-stage liver disease; PBC, primary biliary cirrhosis; PSC,primary sclerosing cholangitis; CTP, Child-Turcotte-Pugh; PELD, pediatric end-stage liver disease; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCV, hepatitis C virus; HIV, humanimmunodeficiency virus; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; HPS, hepatopulmonarysyndrome; NASH, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

    From the Division of Gastroenterology, University of Washington School of Med-icine, Seattle, WA.Received March 4, 2005; accepted March 4, 2005.Address reprint requests to: Robert L. Carithers, Jr., M.D., Division of Gastro-

    enterology, University of Washington School of Medicine, 1959 NE Pacific Street,Box 356174, Seattle, WA 98195-6174. E-mail: [email protected]; fax:206-548-6706.

    Copyright 2005 by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com).DOI 10.1002/hep.20704Potential conflict of interest: Nothing to report.

    1

  • The outcome of all patients who receive liver trans-plants in the United States and Europe is continuouslytracked in comprehensive databases: the United NetworkforOrgan Sharing (UNOS) and the EuropeanTransplantRegistry (ELTR), respectively. Using outcomes fromthese databases, computer models are available to addressspecific issues of organ allocation and to track the efficacyof cadaveric and living-related transplants both nationallyand at individual centers.14 The dramatic increase intransplants over the past two decades seems to have had afavorable impact on chronic liver disease mortality in theUnited States.15 Nevertheless, many issues remain, in-cluding specific indications and contraindications to livertransplantation, the optimum timing of the operation,and the most appropriate use of scarce donor organs.

    Indications for Liver TransplantationLiver transplantation is indicated for acute or chronic

    liver failure from any cause. The major conditions thatlead to the need for transplantation in adults and childrenare summarized in Table 2.

    When Should Evaluation for TransplantationBe Considered?

    The first step in considering a patient for potential livertransplantation is determining the need for the operation.The second step is to confirm that all other effective treat-ments have been attempted. Finally, the patients likeli-hood of being an appropriate candidate fortransplantation should be carefully assessed by a trans-plantation center.

    Determining the Need for Liver TransplantationThe natural history of the patients disease must be

    carefully compared with the anticipated survival after livertransplantation. The clinical tools most widely used todetermine prognosis in patients with chronic liver diseasesinclude disease-specific indices for primary biliary cirrho-sis and sclerosing cholangitis, the Child-Turcotte-Pugh(CTP) classification, the prognostic model for end-stageliver disease (MELD), as well as the impact of specificcomplications of cirrhosis on patient survival.

    The Mayo Clinic prognostic model for primary biliarycirrhosis (PBC) is the best-validated tool for determiningprognosis in groups of patients with chronic liver dis-ease.16,17 However, this model is useful only for patientswith PBC. A number of disease-specific models also havebeen developed for determining the prognosis of patientswith primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).18 However, inaddition to being useful only for patients with this disease,it is not clear whether any of the PSC models add tosimple means of assessing prognosis, such as the CTPclassification.19

    The CTP classification, which was designed to stratifythe risk of portacaval shunt surgery in patients with cir-rhosis and variceal bleeding, has gained favor over the pastdecade as a simple method for determining the prognosisof patients with chronic liver disease (Table 3).20,21

    Although never formally validated as a prognostic tool,the CTP score is useful as a rapid means of assessing therelative risk of mortality among groups of patients withcirrhosis. The CTP score is as effective as quantitative

    Table 1. Quality of Evidence on Which a RecommendationIs Based3

    Grade Definition

    I Randomized controlled trialsII-1 Controlled trials without randomizationII-2 Cohort or case-control analytic studiesII-3 Multiple time series, dramatic uncontrolled experimentsIII Opinions of respected authorities, descriptive epidemiology

    Table 2. Indications for Liver Transplantation

    Chronic noncholestatic liver disordersChronic hepatitis CChronic hepatitis BAutoimmune hepatitisAlcoholic liver disease

    Cholestatic liver disordersPrimary biliary cirrhosisPrimary sclerosing cholangitisBiliary atresiaAlagille syndromeNonsyndromic paucity of the intrahepatic bile ductsCystic fibrosisProgressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis

    Metabolic disorders causing cirrhosisAlpha-1-antitrypsin deficiencyWilson diseaseNonalcoholic steatohepatitis and cryptogenic cirrhosisHereditary hemochromatosisTyrosinemiaGlycogen storage disease type IVNeonatal hemochromatosis

    Metabolic disorders causing severe extrahepatic morbidityAmyloidosisHyperoxaluriaUrea cycle defectsDisorders of branch chain amino acids

    Primary malignancies of the liverHepatocellular carcinomaHepatoblastomaFibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinomaHemangioendothelioma

    Fulminant hepatic failureMiscellaneous conditionsBudd-Chiari syndromeMetastatic neuroendocrine tumorsPolycystic disease

    Retransplantation

    2 MURRAY AND CARITHERS HEPATOLOGY, June 2005

  • liver function tests in determining short-term prognosisamong groups of patients awaiting liver transplantation.22

    Although its limitations have been well described, theCTP score has been widely adopted for risk-stratifyingpatients before transplantation because of its simplicityand ease of use.23 More than one third of patients withCTP scores of 10 or more (class C) who are waiting fortransplantation can be expected to die within 1 year.19,22

    In contrast, patients with CTP scores of 7 to 9 (class B)have an 80% chance of surviving 5 years, and those withCTP scores of 5 to 6 (class A) have a 90% chance ofsurviving more than 5 years without transplanta-tion.19,24,25

    The MELD was originally developed to assess short-term prognosis in patients undergoing transjugular intra-hepatic portosystemic shunts (TIPS). Among patientswho had undergone this procedure, serum bilirubin, in-ternational normalized ratio of prothrombin time (INR),serum creatinine, and diagnosis seemed to be the bestpredictors of 3-month postoperative survival.26 Using theMELD model, patients are assigned a score in a continu-ous scale from 6 to 40, which equates to estimated3-month survival rates from 90% to 7%, respectively.26

    Subsequent studies of this model demonstrated its useful-ness as an effective tool for determining the prognosis ofgroups of patients with chronic liver disease.27 A modifi-cation of this model is now used to prioritize patients fordonor allocation in the United States. The modifiedMELD score has been shown useful both in predictingshort-term survival in groups of patients on the waitinglist for liver transplantation as well as the risk of postop-erative mortality.28,29

    A similar model has been developed for pediatric end-stage liver disease (PELD). The variables included in thismodel are: age younger than 1 year, serum albumin level,serum bilirubin, INR and growth failure (2 SD belowthe age-based mean).30,31 The higher the PELD score, thelower the likelihood of 3-month survival without trans-plantation. This model has been useful in predictingdeaths of pediatric patients waiting for transplantation.32

    Calculation of individual MELD or PELD scores forpatients can be determined at http://www.unos.org/resources/meldpeldcalculator.asp.

    The development of ascites, variceal bleeding, hepaticencephalopathy, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, or he-patorenal syndrome also have a significant impact on theprognosis of patients with cirrhosis. The 5-year survivalrate of individuals in whom any of these complicationsdevelop is only 20% to 50%of patients with compensatedcirrhosis.33,34 The most ominous complications are spon-taneous bacterial peritonitis and rapid-onset (type I) he-patorenal syndrome. Less than half of those in whomspontaneous bacterial peritonitis develops can be ex-pected to survive 1 year, whereas the median survivalamong patients with type I hepatorenal syndrome is lessthan 2 weeks.35,36

    The natural history of disease should be comparedwiththe expected survival after liver transplantation. Currentsurvival rates 1, 3, and 5 years after liver transplantation inthe United States are 88%, 80%, and 75%, respectively(http://www.optn.org/latestdata/step2.asp). As a result,patients with a MELD score of 15 or more and a CTPscore of 7 or more can be expected to achieve improvedsurvival with liver transplantation.25,28,29 Because com-plete evaluation for transplantation can take weeks tomonths and patients must wait for variable periods oftime before receiving a deceased donor organ, referral be-fore the patients anticipated mortality exceeds that of theestimated postoperative survival is important.

    Recommendations1. Patients with cirrhosis should be referred for

    transplantation when they develop evidence of hepaticdysfunction (CTP> 7 and MELD> 10) or when theyexperience their first major complication (ascites,variceal bleeding, or hepatic encephalopathy) (II-3).

    2. Children with chronic liver disease should bereferred when they deviate from normal growth curvesor develop evidence of hepatic dysfunction or portalhypertension (II-3).

    3. Patients with type I hepatorenal syndromeshould have an expedited referral for liver transplan-tation (II-3).

    Exploring Alternative Forms of TreatmentBecause of the need for long-term immunosuppressive

    therapy, liver transplantation can be associated withhigher mortality and long-term morbidity than many al-ternative treatments for patients with various chronic liverdiseases. As a result, every therapeutic option should becarefully considered before committing a patient to thisoperation. Examples of alternative treatments are detailed

    Table 3. Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) Scoring System to AssessSeverity of Liver Disease

    Points 1 2 3

    Encephalopathy (grade)* None 1 and 2 3 and 4Ascites Absent Slight ModerateBilirubin (mg/dL) 1-2 2-3 3Albumin (g/dL) 3.5 2.8-3.5 2.8Prothrombin time (seconds prolonged) 1-4 4-6 6Or (INR) 1.7 1.7-2.3 2.3For primary biliary cirrhosis: bilirubin (mg/dL) 1-4 4-10 10

    *According to grading of Trey, Burns, and Saunders.21

    HEPATOLOGY, Vol. 41, No. 6, 2005 MURRAY AND CARITHERS 3

  • in Specific Indications for Liver Transplantation.. How-ever, in patients with severe liver disease in whom theoutcome of another treatment is uncertain, it is reason-able to begin evaluation for transplantation while assess-ing the outcome of the alternative form of therapy.Examples include immunosuppressive therapy for pa-tients with severe autoimmune hepatitis, chelation ther-apy for patients with severe chronic Wilson disease, andantiviral therapy for patients with decompensated cirrho-sis secondary to chronic hepatitis B.

    Recommendations4. Every option for disease-specific treatment

    should be considered in patients with chronic liverdisease.

    a. Only when there is no effective alternative ther-apy or when treatment has been shown to be ineffectiveshould liver transplantation be considered (II-3).

    b. However, in critically ill patients in whom theoutcome of medical therapy is uncertain, it is appro-priate to simultaneously begin specific treatment forthe disease and to initiate evaluation for potentialliver transplantation (III).

    Determining the Potential for Successful LiverTransplantation

    As soon as it has been determined that a patient is sickenough to require consideration for transplantation andthat no other alternative treatments are available, a carefulevaluation should be performed to address the followingfundamental questions:

    A. Can the patient survive the operation and theimmediate postoperative period?

    B. Can the patient be expected to comply with thecomplex medical regimen required after liver transplanta-tion?

    C. Does the patient have other comorbid condi-tions that could so severely compromise graft or patientsurvival that transplantation would be futile and an inap-propriate use of a scarce donor organ?

    Recipient Evaluation at the Transplant CenterThe typical evaluation of potential transplant recipi-

    ents performed at most transplant centers includes:A. A careful history and physical examination;B. Cardiopulmonary assessment, including cardiac

    echocardiography, pulmonary function tests, dobut-amine stress testing, and cardiac catheterization in se-lected patients;

    C. Laboratory studies to confirm the etiology andseverity of liver disease;

    D. Creatinine clearance;

    E. Laboratory studies to determine the status of cur-rent or previous hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus(HCV), Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, and humanimmunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections; and

    F. Abdominal imaging to determine hepatic arteryand portal vein anatomy and the presence of hepatocellu-lar carcinoma (HCC).

    Specific Medical, Surgical, and Psychosocial IssuesSpecific medical, surgical, and psychosocial issues that

    are important in the evaluation of potential liver trans-plant recipients include the following.

    Age. There is no specific age limitation to successfulliver transplantation.37,38 However, older patients havediminished long-term survival after transplantation com-pared with younger individuals, primarily because of anincreased risk of death from malignancies.39,40

    Coronary Artery Disease. Perioperative mortality af-ter liver transplantation is high in patients with coronaryartery disease.41 Dobutamine stress echocardiography, inmost but not all studies, seems to be an effective screeningtest for occult coronary disease in this setting.42-44 How-ever, cardiac catheterization should be performed in pa-tients with positive stress tests to confirm and to delineatefurther the extent of the coronary disease.41,42

    Recommendations5. Chronic smokers, patients over the age of 50,

    and those with a clinical or family history of heartdisease or diabetes should undergo evaluation for cor-onary artery disease (III).

    6. Dobutamine stress echocardiography appearsto be an effective screening test in this setting; how-ever, positive test results should be confirmed withcardiac catheterization (II-2).

    The Hepatopulmonary SyndromeThe hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) consists of the

    clinical triad of chronic liver disease, arterial deoxygen-ation, and widespread intrapulmonary vasodilation. Pre-operative evaluation of patients suspected of havingHPS should include arterial blood pO2 determination,transthoracic contrast echocardiography, arterial oxygenresponse to 100% oxygen administration, and quantifica-tion of intrapulmonary shunting using amacroaggregatedalbumin (MAA) scan.45 With careful management, mod-erate abnormalities of gas exchange are not a deterrent tosuccessful liver transplantation. However, patients withsevere hypoxia have increased perioperativemortality.45,46

    Preoperative PaO2 of 50 mmHg or less alone or in com-bination with a MAA shunt fraction of 20% or more arethe strongest predictors of postoperative mortality.45 The

    4 MURRAY AND CARITHERS HEPATOLOGY, June 2005

  • median survival of patients with cirrhosis and severe HPSis less than 12 months.47 Because the condition is revers-ible after liver transplantation, HPS has become an indi-cation for urgent transplantation.48,49 Patients withclinical evidence of HPS and PaO2 of less than 60 mmHgon room air with no underlying lung disease can receiveenhanced prioritization for organ allocation to allow thema reasonable possibility of receiving a deceased donor or-gan within 3 months. Given the ominous prognosis ofsevere HPS and the potential reversibility of the condi-tion, transplantation seems to be a reasonable, albeit high-risk, option for these patients.

    Recommendation7. Because patients with cirrhosis and severe

    hepatopulmonary syndrome have an extremely poorprognosis without transplantation, they should havean expedited referral and evaluation for liver trans-plantation (II-2).

    Portopulmonary HypertensionPortopulmonary hypertension is seen in 2% to 4% of

    patients with cirrhosis.50,51 In a retrospective analysis of1205 consecutive patients who underwent liver trans-plantation, 81 (7%) had mild pulmonary hypertension(systolic pulmonary artery pressure, 30-44 mmHg), 14(1%) had moderate pulmonary hypertension (systolicpulmonary artery pressure, 45-59 mmHg), and 7 hadsevere pulmonary hypertension (systolic pulmonary ar-tery pressure,60 mmHg) before surgery. The presenceof mild and moderate pulmonary hypertension did notinfluence the outcome of the procedure. In contrast,among patients with severe pulmonary hypertension, thepostoperative mortality was 42% at 9 months and 71% at36 months. Only 2 of the 7 patients with severe pulmo-nary hypertension survived transplantation with goodquality of life. The remaining 5 continued to deterioratewith progressive right heart failure, with no evidence thattransplantation ameliorated the pulmonary hyperten-sion.52 A number of studies have found that mild pulmo-nary hypertension is not associated with an increased riskof liver transplantation.52-54 However, severe pulmonaryhypertension is associated with high perioperative mortal-ity and, if not successfully treated, is a contraindication toliver transplantation.52,53 Nevertheless, patients with se-vere pulmonary hypertension who have been sucessfullytreated with medical therapy have undergone transplan-tation safely. In most of these patients, pulmonary hyper-tension gradually resolves within 4 to 6 months aftertransplantation and medical therapy can be discontin-ued.55-57

    Doppler echocardiography is a sensitive method of de-tecting the presence of pulmonary hypertension.51,58-60

    However, the positive predictive value of the test is low.Therefore, positive results should be confirmed with rightheart catheterization.

    Recommendations8. All patients undergoing evaluation for poten-

    tial liver transplantation should undergo screening forpulmonary hypertension (II-3).

    9. Doppler echocardiography is an excellentscreening test in this setting; however, positive testresults should be confirmed with right heart catheter-ization (II-2).

    10. Patients with severe pulmonary hypertensionshould be considered for liver transplantation only ifthe condition can be effectively controlled with medi-cal therapy (II-3).

    ObesityObesity, which is a common problem in patients being

    considered for liver transplantation, has an adverse impacton both immediate and long-term survival. Most patientsin theUnited States who underwent liver transplantationsbetween 1988 and 1996 were overweight (body mass in-dex [BMI] 25 kg/m2).61 Obesity was more common inwomen and in patients with cryptogenic cirrhosis. Mor-bid obesity (BMI 40 kg/m2) was associated with de-creased 30-day, 1-year, and 2-year postoperative survival.Five-year survival was reduced both in patients with mor-bid and severe obesity (BMI 35 kg/m2).61

    Cigarette SmokingIn one survey of more than 200 liver transplant recip-

    ients, 60% reported a lifetime history of smoking.62 Anumber of recent studies have demonstrated the deleteri-ous effects of smoking on outcomes after transplantation.The risk of hepatic artery thrombosis appears to be signif-icantly increased among chronic smokers.63 This effectdisappears in chronic smokers who discontinue nicotineuse 2 years before transplantation.63 Long-term postoper-ative survival of smokers also is decreased because of anincrease in cardiac mortality and death from malignan-cies.40

    Recommendations11. Morbid obesity should be considered a contra-

    indication to liver transplantation (II-3).12. All patients considered for liver transplanta-

    tion should be encouraged to undergo efforts to ab-stain from smoking (III).

    HEPATOLOGY, Vol. 41, No. 6, 2005 MURRAY AND CARITHERS 5

  • Renal FailureA number of studies have identified elevated serum

    creatinine as an independent risk factor for the develop-ment of renal failure and decreased survival after livertransplantation.64-66 Acute renal failure from the hepato-renal syndrome usually improves dramatically after livertransplantation and does not appear to have an impact onposttransplant survival.67,68 In contrast, patients with pre-existing chronic renal disease have diminished survivaland an increased risk of requiring dialysis after transplan-tation.64 However, it can be quite difficult to distinguishthese two conditions in patients with severe liver disease.69

    Combined liver and renal transplantation is an attractiveoption for selected patients with preexisting renal diseasewho develop liver failure.70,71 However, given the largenumber of patients on renal transplant waiting lists, thebenefit of performing combined liver and renal transplan-tation must be weighed against the risk of depriving renaltransplant recipients of donor organs.72

    The serum creatinine level is one of the major variablesin the MELD model used to allocate donor organs forliver transplantation.28 As a result, an increasing numberof patients with renal insufficiency are being selected forliver transplantation. There is concern that this may de-crease overall survival rates and also may increase the needfor combined liver and kidney transplants.66,72 This areaneeds continued research and reevaluation.

    Additional details on the medical management of he-patorenal syndrome are included in the Practice Guide-lines on Management of Patients with Ascites Due toCirrhosis, which can be found at http://www.aasld.org/netforumaasld/eweb/docs/ascites.pdf.

    Recommendations13. The presence of renal insufficiency is an impor-

    tant predictor of postoperative renal failure and mor-tality after liver transplantation, and hence athorough pretransplantation evaluation of renal func-tion is important (II-2).

    14. Because rapidly progressive hepatorenal syn-drome (type 1) has an ominous prognosis and usuallyis reversed by transplantation, patients with this con-dition should have an expedited referral for evalua-tion (II-3).

    15. Selected patients with chronic renal and liverdisease should be considered for combined liverkidney transplantation (III).

    Extrahepatic MalignanciesPatients with a history of extrahepatic malignancy are

    at high risk for recurrent disease because of the immuno-suppression required after liver transplantation. Thus, it is

    prudent to defer transplantation for a reasonable periodafter cure of any such malignancy. However, at presentthere is no consensus on the optimum window of timebetween presumed cure of various extrahepatic malignan-cies and liver transplantation. This is an area in need ofcontinued evaluation.

    Recommendation16. Because the natural history and chance of recur-

    rence varies with different tumors, close consultationbetween a patients oncologist and transplantationphysicians should occur before evaluation for livertransplantation in patients with extrahepatic malig-nancies (III).

    OsteoporosisOsteoporosis is a common complication among pa-

    tients with cirrhosis.73 This is particularly true for post-menopausal women, patients with cholestatic disorderssuch as PBC and PSC, and patients who have receivedprolonged corticosteroid therapy.74 However, osteoporo-sis also is common in patients with chronic hepatitis Cand alcoholic cirrhosis.75,76 Osteoporosis is of particularconcern in patients being considered for liver transplan-tation because of the loss of bone density and the risk forpathological fractures that can occur in the perioperativeperiod.77

    Recommendations17. All patients with chronic liver disease should be

    screened for osteoporosis during evaluation for livertransplantation (II-3).

    18. In those with significant bone loss, efforts toimprove bone density and to prevent pathologicalfractures should be pursued both before and aftertransplantation (III).

    Patients With HIV InfectionThe early experience with liver transplantation for pa-

    tients with HIV infection was discouraging. Most pa-tients died within a few years after transplantation fromoverwhelming infections.78-80 However, even in theseearly series, there were a few long-term survivors. Withthe widespread use of highly active antiretroviral therapy(HAART), both the natural history of HIV infection andthe outcome after transplantation have improved dramat-ically. In addition, cirrhosis secondary to chronic hepatitisC has emerged as a leading cause of death among individ-uals with well-controlled HIV infection.

    As a result, an increasing number of patients with HIVinfection are being referred for liver transplantation. Re-cent results suggest that short-term survival after trans-

    6 MURRAY AND CARITHERS HEPATOLOGY, June 2005

  • plantation in patients with HIV infection that is wellcontrolled with HAART is comparable with that seen inHIV-negative recipients.81,82 Most patients have unde-tectable HIV RNA after the operation; however, a num-ber of serious interactions have been reported betweenantiretroviral drugs and the immunosuppressive agentsused after liver transplantation.83,84 In addition, severerecurrent hepatitis C has been observed in a number ofpatients.82,85,86 Because of these various issues, the care oftransplantation recipients with HIV infection requires awell-coordinated, multidisciplinary team with expertiseboth in transplantation and HIV management.87

    Recommendation19. Liver transplantation in patients with HIV

    infection requires a well-coordinated, multidisci-plinary team with expertise both in transplantationand HIV management (III).

    Surgical IssuesThe most commonly encountered surgical contraindi-

    cation to liver transplantation is absence of a viablesplanchnic venous inflow system, either from portal veinthrombosis or cavernous transformation of the portal veinin children. Thrombosis of the main portal vein can besuccessfully bypassed; however, if the entire portal venoussystem is occluded or atrophied, attempts at transplanta-tion are associated with a high risk of graft loss and peri-operative mortality.88-91 Computed tomographic andmagnetic resonance angiography can provide accuratepreoperative assessment of both hepatic arterial anomaliesand the integrity of portal inflow to the liver.92-94 Suchstudies also are valuable in assessing both the donor andrecipient vasculature before living-related transplanta-tion.95

    Recommendation20. Patients with occlusion or hypoplasia of the

    splanchnic blood supply require careful anatomicalevaluation before transplantation because of the in-creased risk of perioperative mortality and graft loss(II-3).

    Psychosocial IssuesPsychosocial issues often are the greatest deterrent to

    successful liver transplantation. Significant psychiatricdisorders must be under excellent medical control withassurance that the patient can be compliant after trans-plantation. In addition, patients must have adequate sup-port from family or friends during the perioperativeperiod. Prisoners and children with mental retardationpose significant logistical and ethical challenges. Themost

    frequently encountered contraindication to transplanta-tion is continued destructive behavior resulting from drugand alcohol addiction.

    Medical compliance must be effectively addressed be-fore patients are considered for transplantation. Any formof addictive behavior also should be addressed and be wellcontrolled before patients are accepted for transplanta-tion. This may require extensive counseling and inpatientor outpatient treatment programs. Three small studieshave indicated that posttransplantation outcome andcompliance among patients on methadone maintenanceis comparable with that of other transplant recipients,although more pain medications and higher doses ofmethadone may be required during the perioperative pe-riod.96-98

    Recommendations21. Individuals should meet reasonable expecta-

    tions of compliance before placement on a donor wait-ing list (II-3).

    22. However, before a candidate is refused livertransplantation, every effort should be made to pro-vide expert counseling and treatment of disorders thatmay adversely affect postoperative compliance (III).

    23. Patients receiving methadone maintenancewho are otherwise good candidates for transplanta-tion should not be denied consideration for the oper-ation (II-2).

    Specific Indications for LiverTransplantationChronic Noncholestatic Liver Disorders

    Cirrhosis secondary to chronic noncholestatic disor-ders is the most common indication for liver transplanta-tion in adults, accounting for more than 60% of alltransplants performed annually. Included among thisgroup are patients with end-stage liver disease secondaryto chronic viral hepatitis, autoimmune hepatitis, and al-coholic cirrhosis. Postoperative survival for this group ofpatients is slightly less than for transplantation recipientswith cholestatic liver disorders (1 year, 86%; 3 years,77%).99

    Chronic Hepatitis CIt is estimated that 15% to 20% of patients with

    chronic HCV infection develop cirrhosis within 20 yearsof disease onset.100 Chronic alcohol abuse appears to ac-celerate this process.101 Although the 10-year survival rateof patients with well-compensated cirrhosis is more than80%, 5-year survival is less than 50% after complicationsdevelop.33 Patients with cirrhosis secondary to chronichepatitis C also have a 2% to 8% annual risk of develop-ing HCC.102

    HEPATOLOGY, Vol. 41, No. 6, 2005 MURRAY AND CARITHERS 7

  • End-stage liver disease secondary to chronic hepatitis Cvirus infection accounts for an estimated 4,500 in-hospi-tal deaths annually in the United States.103 As a result, thiscondition has become the leading reason for liver trans-plantation among adults. Persistent viremia with HCV isvirtually universal after liver transplantation, and the ma-jority of patients develop recurrent liver injury.104,105

    Postoperative survival in early studies appeared to approx-imate that of patients transplanted for other condi-tions.104-106 However, recent series suggest decreasedsurvival of patients with hepatitis C compared with otherliver transplantation recipients.107-109 Although many pa-tients do well with minimal liver damage despite persis-tently high levels of circulating virus, a minority ofpatients develop rapidly progressive fibrosis and cirrhosiswithin the first few years after transplantation.110,111

    Antiviral treatment after transplantation often ispoorly tolerated. Although virological responses to treat-ment have been well documented, the overall impact ofantiviral therapy on histological progression or patientand graft survival is not clear.112,113 In contrast, emergingdata suggest that preoperative treatment with interferonand ribavirin can be quite effective in some patients withrelatively well-compensated cirrhosis, particularly thosewith genotype 2 and 3 infection. Furthermore, successfultreatment before transplantation usually prevents postop-erative HCV infection.114

    Additional details on the treatment of hepatitis C arecontained in the 2003 guidelines on hepatitis C, whichcan be found at: https://www.aasld.org/eweb/docs/hepatitisc.pdf.

    Recommendations24. Patients with clinically decompensated cirrhosis

    from chronic hepatitis C infection should be referred forconsideration of liver transplantation (II-3).

    25. Antiviral therapy should be considered in pa-tients who have been accepted as candidates for livertransplantation, as long as treatment is administeredby experienced clinicians, with vigilant monitoring foradverse events (II-3).

    26. Treatment of HCV-related disease followingliver transplantation should be undertaken with cau-tion because of the increased risk of adverse events andshould be performed under the supervision of a phy-sician experienced in transplantation (II-2).

    Chronic Hepatitis BAn estimated 350 million persons worldwide and 1.25

    million in the United States are infected with HBV.HBVcarriers, particularly those who acquire the disease at birthor in early childhood, are at risk for the development of

    cirrhosis and HCC. HBV carriers with compensated cir-rhosis have an 84%5-year survival rate and a 68%10-yearsurvival rate; however, patients with decompensated cir-rhosis have a 5-year survival rate of only 14%.115

    Dramatic improvements have occurred in the treat-ment of hepatitis B over the last decade. Particularly im-portant is the development of agents that are safe andeffective both before and after liver transplantation. Lami-vudine therapy is well tolerated and results in clinicalimprovement in many patients with decompensated cir-rhosis; however, the development of resistance is com-mon.116-119 Adefovir also is effective, either as primarytherapy or in patients who develop resistance to lamivu-dine.120-123 Furthermore, the likelihood of drug resistanceis much lower than with lamivudine.120 However, neph-rotoxicity can occur in patients with decompensated cir-rhosis. As a result, periodicmonitoring of renal function isrecommended in patients who receive adefovir.115 Al-though treatment with interferon alfa (IFN-) may beeffective in some patients with decompensated cirrhosis,significant side effects resulting from bacterial infectionand exacerbation of liver disease can occur, even with lowdoses of the drug.124,125

    The early results of liver transplantation for hepatitis Bwere discouraging, because many patients developed rap-idly progressive recurrent disease (fibrosing cholestatichepatitis) that resulted in death within 12 to 18 monthsafter the operation.126,127 However, perioperative treat-ment with lamivudine or adefovir combined with pro-longed administration of hepatitis B immune globulin hasdramatically reduced both the reinfection rate and theseverity of recurrent hepatitis B after liver transplanta-tion.128,129 With routine use of these approaches, survivalof patients transplanted for chronic hepatitis B now ex-ceeds that of patients transplanted for many other condi-tions.99,130,131 The optimal regimen for prevention ofrecurrent HBV infection after liver transplantation re-mains controversial. However, it is clear that some formof antiviral therapy is needed, probably for the lifetime ofthe patient.132

    Additional details on the treatment of hepatitis B arecontained in the 2001 practice guidelines on chronic hep-atitis B, which can be found at: https://www.aasld.org/eweb/docs/chronichep_B.pdf, and the recently updatedrecommendations at: https://www.aasld.org/eweb/docs/updatechronichep_B.pdf.

    Recommendations27. Patients with decompensated cirrhosis second-

    ary to chronic hepatitis B should be considered fortreatment with antiviral therapy in coordination withthe transplant center (II-3).

    8 MURRAY AND CARITHERS HEPATOLOGY, June 2005

  • 28. Interferon-alfa should not be used in patientswith decompensated cirrhosis because of the risk ofexacerbation of liver disease (II-3).

    29. The posttransplantation care of patients withHBV should include antiviral therapy (II-3).

    Autoimmune HepatitisAutoimmune hepatitis can result in progressive in-

    flammation and fibrosis of the liver with subsequent cir-rhosis and hepatic failure. Corticosteroid therapy isassociated with clinical remission of disease in 80% ofpatients, prolongs immediate survival, and results in 10-year survival rates of 90% in adults.133 Nevertheless, somepatients who achieve biochemical and histological remis-sion of disease develop intractable portal hypertensionand slowly progressive liver failure, despite medical ther-apy.

    Liver transplantation is the only effective treatment forpatients with severe autoimmune hepatitis who fail torespond to immunosuppressive therapy or who developadvanced decompensated disease despite treatment. Out-come after liver transplantation is excellent, with reported5- and 10-year survival rates of more than 75% inadults.99,134,135 Recurrent disease can occur but is usuallymild and easily managed.136-138 However, the risk of bothacute and chronic rejection seems to be greater in patientswith autoimmune hepatitis.134,135,137 Occasionally, recur-rent autoimmune hepatitis results in graft loss; however,these few cases have not had an appreciable impact onoverall patient survival after transplantation.136,139-141

    Autoimmune hepatitis in children is a mixture of typeI (antismooth muscle antibody positive, most commonin older children) and type II (antiliver kidney microso-mal antibody positive, more common in younger chil-dren). Children with type II disease tend to have a moreaggressive course that is less responsive to therapy, with ahigher percentage requiring liver transplantation.142,143

    Furthermore, posttransplantation survival is lower in chil-dren with type II disease, most likely reflecting their pre-transplant morbidity entering the transplant.142 As withautoimmune hepatitis in adults, recurrence after trans-plantation occurs frequently in children. However, moresevere disease recurrence has been observed, and as a re-sult, the outcome in children seems to be less favorablethan that in adults.144

    Additional details on the treatment of autoimmunehepatitis are contained in the 2002 practice guideline onthe diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune hepatitis,which can be found at: https://www.aasld.org/eweb/docs/autoimmune_hepatitis.pdf.

    Recommendations30. Liver transplantation should be considered in

    decompensated patients with autoimmune hepatitiswho are unable to undergo or be salvaged by medicaltherapy (II-3).

    31. Due to the risk of recurrent disease and en-hanced risk of rejection, patients with autoimmunehepatitis may require more immunosuppression thanpatients transplanted for other indications (II-3).

    Alcoholic CirrhosisAlcoholic liver disease is the most common cause of

    cirrhosis and accounts for 40% of deaths from cirrhosis intheUnited States.145 Abstinence is the only effective treat-ment for most patients, but even among patients withdecompensated cirrhosis, it can be associated with a dra-matic improvement in survival.146,147 As a result, manypatients with apparently far-advanced alcoholic liver dis-ease who completely abstain can recover to the degree thattransplantation is not required.148 Unfortunately, there isno effective means of predicting which patients will havesuch a dramatic response. Nevertheless, because the re-sults can be so dramatic, a period of abstinence beforeproviding transplantation for patients with alcoholic liverdisease seems to be appropriate. More than 85% of trans-plantation programs in the United States require 6months of abstinence and careful evaluation by profes-sional counselors to directly address the addiction to al-cohol before transplantation.149 Patients who have CTPscores of 11 or more (Child C disease), despite at least 6months of abstinence, have improved survival with trans-plantation compared with the natural history of diseasepredicted from prognostic models.150 However, theremay be a benefit of delaying transplantation further inpatients with milder disease. A recent clinical trial care-fully evaluated 120 patients with Childs B cirrhosis whowere randomized to receive immediate transplantation(60 patients) or to be observed expectantly (60 patients).Only 41 patients randomized to surgery received a trans-plantation because 6 improved, 6 died before surgerycould be performed, and 7 developed a contraindicationto the operation. An additional 15 patients in the controlarm ultimately underwent transplantation for decompen-sated disease. Two-year survival was higher in the obser-vational group (80% vs. 73%), primarily because of a highrisk of postoperative malignancy in those who were ran-domized to receive immediate transplantation.151

    The outcome after liver transplantation for alcoholicliver disease is comparable to that of patients transplantedfor most other conditions, with 7-year survival rates of60%.99,152-154 Rejection, graft failure, and the need forretransplantation all are less common in patients with

    HEPATOLOGY, Vol. 41, No. 6, 2005 MURRAY AND CARITHERS 9

  • alcoholic liver disease compared with patients trans-planted for other conditions.155,156 Although alcohol re-lapse rates vary considerably from center to center, graftloss as a consequence of destructive drinking after trans-plantation is uncommon.157-159

    Patients with alcoholic cirrhosis are more likely to de-velop profound confusion in the early postoperative pe-riod than other transplant recipients.160 This can result inprolonged hospitalization and can increase the costs oftransplantation.160-162 In addition, patients with alcoholicliver disease have an increased risk of pharyngeal, esoph-ageal, and gastric malignancies after transplanta-tion.158,159,163,164

    Recommendations32. To be considered for transplantation, potential

    candidates with alcoholic liver disease should havecareful assessment by a health care professional expe-rienced in the management of patients with addictivebehavior (III).

    33. It is prudent to delay transplantation for aminimum of 3 to 6 months of abstinence from alcoholto avoid exposing patients who may not need trans-plantation to the risk of unnecessary surgery (II-2).

    Cholestatic Liver DisordersLiver transplantation is the only effective treatment for

    adults with end-stage liver disease secondary to PBC andPSC. Biliary atresia is the most common indication forliver transplantation in children, accounting for 60% to70% of all procedures performed. Other cholestatic dis-eases in children for which transplantation is indicatedinclude PSC, Alagille syndrome, nonsyndromic intrahe-patic paucity, cystic fibrosis, and progressive familial in-trahepatic cholestasis. Survival after transplantation foreither adults or children with cholestatic disorders is ex-cellent, with 1-year postoperative survival of more than90% and 3-year survival approximating 85%.99

    Primary Biliary CirrhosisPBC is a chronic destructive disorder of interlobular

    bile ducts that can progress to cirrhosis and liver failure.The disease most commonly affects women in the fourthto seventh decades of life. After liver transplantation, 70%of patients with PBC survive at least 10 years after theoperation.99,165,166 Numerous studies using disease-spe-cific prognostic models have documented improved sur-vival after transplantation compared with estimatedsurvival without surgery.165-167 The survival benefit oftransplantation is evident as soon as 3 months after sur-gery, and 2-year survival of transplanted patients is morethan twice that predicted for those treated conservative-

    ly.165 Occasional patients with PBC and good liver func-tion have such severe pruritus and associated sleepdeprivation and emotional disturbance that liver trans-plantation may be required.168 However, every possiblemedical treatment should be explored before transplanta-tion is undertaken in these patients.169 Although recur-rent PBC after transplantation has been welldocumented, it has not had a major impact on long-termpostoperative survival.166

    Additional details on the management of PBC are con-tained in the 2000 practice guidelines on themanagementof PBC, which can be found at: https://www.aasld.org/eweb/docs/biliarycirrhosis.pdf.

    Recommendations34. Liver transplantation is the only effective treat-

    ment for liver failure secondary to primary biliarycirrhosis (II-2).

    35. Liver transplantation also may occasionally beindicated in appropriately selected patients for uncon-trolled pruritus (III).

    Primary Sclerosing CholangitisPSC is a chronic cholestatic disorder of unknown cause

    characterized by progressive inflammation and strictureformation affecting both intrahepatic and extrahepaticbile ducts. The disease typically occurs in young men,70% to 75% of whom have inflammatory bowel dis-ease.170 Although the natural history of patients with PSCis quite variable, most patients with symptomatic diseasedevelop liver failure within 10 to 12 years.171 No specificmedical treatment has been shown to improve survival inpatients with PSC.171,172

    Most studies have reported transplantation out-comes for PSC patients that equal or surpass thosereported for PBC, with 3-year survival rates of morethan 90%.99,173-177 However, one recent report demon-strated higher retransplantation rates and lower long-term survival among patients with PSC.178

    Nevertheless, survival of patients with PSC after livertransplantation has been shown to be far superior tothat predicted for patients treated conservative-ly.18,179,180 Although recurrent disease is common aftertransplantation, this has not had a significant impacton long-term postoperative survival.176,181 However,the discovery of cholangiocarcinoma before or duringsurgery dramatically reduces survival.176 Furthermore,development of colorectal cancer can adversely influ-ence postoperative survival if regular screening is notperformed in patients with ulcerative colitis.174,182,183

    10 MURRAY AND CARITHERS HEPATOLOGY, June 2005

  • Recommendations36. Liver transplantation is the only effective treat-

    ment for decompensated cirrhosis secondary to pri-mary sclerosing cholangitis (II-2).

    37. Patients with PSC and cholangiocarcinomashould be excluded from transplantation unless theyare enrolled in a clinical trial of experimental therapy(II-3).

    38. Because of the high incidence of colon cancer,regularly scheduled colonoscopies should be performedboth before and after transplantation in all patientswho have inflammatory bowel disease (II-3).

    Childhood Cholestatic DiseasesChronic cholestasis in children can result from a vari-

    ety of conditions, including biliary atresia, -1-antitryp-sin deficiency, cystic fibrosis, various types of intrahepaticcholestasis, and PSC. Extrahepatic biliary atresia is themost common cause of chronic childhood cholestasis andis the leading pediatric indication for liver transplanta-tion.

    Biliary atresia is a destructive inflammatory process ofunknown etiology that results in fibrosis and obliterationof the extrahepatic bile ducts and variable involvement ofthe intrahepatic ducts. If untreated, death usually resultswithin the first 1 to 2 years of life.184 There is no effectivemedical therapy for children with biliary atresia. How-ever, if the diagnosis can be established within the first fewmonths of life, a Kasai portoenterostomy can result inprolonged survival in as many as 70% of infants.185,186 Asa consequence, portoenterostomy, performed within thefirst 2 months of life by an experienced surgeon, is con-sidered the treatment of choice for most children withbiliary atresia.However, if the diagnosis is delayed beyond3 months, successful results from the Kasai procedure aresignificantly reduced. Children who are not offered sur-gery because of a delay in diagnosis, as well as those withunsuccessful Kasai procedures, invariably die before theirsecond birthday. Small children who need transplanta-tion can be successfully transplanted using a reduced-sizedeceased donor organ or a portion of the liver from aliving related donor.7,187 In addition, children with suc-cessful Kasai procedures can develop cirrhosis and pro-gressive portal hypertension over a period of years. Thesechildren may also require liver transplantation for long-term survival.184,188

    There are no controlled studies directly comparingliver transplantation with portoenterostomy. However,the advantages of delaying transplantation from the firstfew months of life until 5 to 10 years of age are consider-able, the most important of which are increased opportu-nities for an acceptable donor organ, diminished risk of

    primary nonfunction of the transplanted donor organ,and decreased rates of rejection.189 Furthermore, if trans-plantation can be delayed until the child is at least 6 yearsof age, both graft and patient survival are greatly in-creased.190 These benefits must be weighed against thepotential for increased blood loss, longer operative time,and increased perioperative complications of transplanta-tion in children with a previous portoenterostomy.191

    However, recent surgical series do not suggest increasedperioperative mortality in such children.191 Overall, chil-dren with biliary atresia have the best posttransplant out-come of any group of patients, with 1-year survival of93% and 5-year survival of more than 85%.

    Other less common causes of chronic cholestasis inchildren include syndromic (Alagille syndrome) and non-syndromic forms of intrahepatic paucity of bile ducts,cystic fibrosis, PSC in adolescents, and the progressivefamilial intrahepatic cholestasis disorders. Approximately20%of children with Alagille syndrome develop cirrhosis,and a greater number develop intractable drug-resistantpruritus. Although the number of transplants performedfor this condition is limited, the results seem to approxi-mate those seen for other chronic cholestatic conditions.Furthermore, in many children growth is accelerated andquality of life is substantially improved after successfultransplantation.192,193 Mortality of children with Alagillesyndrome is caused not only by liver disease (25%) butalso by intracranial bleeding (25%) and complex congen-ital heart disease (15%). Consequently, the risk of theseextrahepatic features of the syndrome must be consideredin the evaluation for transplantation.194

    Cystic fibrosis, which can cause cholestatic liver diseaseresulting in extensive fibrosis, biliary cirrhosis, or scleros-ing cholangitis, accounts for 3% to 5% of pediatric livertransplants. However, many of these children also haveadvanced restrictive lung disease, and most deaths afterliver transplantation are the result of pulmonary or septicevents within the first few years after the operation.195

    The progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis(PFIC) disorders are a collection of autosomal recessivedefects of hepatocellular transport involved in bile saltformation. Infants with these disorders develop progres-sive cholestasis and fibrosis within the first year of life,which often progresses to cirrhosis with liver failure laterin childhood.196,197 If the diagnosis is established beforethe development of cirrhosis, partial external biliary diver-sion can result in clinical, biochemical, and histologicalimprovement in the majority of patients.198,199 On theother hand, if cirrhosis has already been established or ifpartial external biliary diversion is not successful, livertransplantation is usually required for long-term surviv-al.199 However, the extrahepatic manifestations of these

    HEPATOLOGY, Vol. 41, No. 6, 2005 MURRAY AND CARITHERS 11

  • conditions, such as short stature and diarrhea, are notalways improved by transplantation.200

    Recommendations39. Liver transplantation is indicated in appropri-

    ately selected children with biliary atresia if portoen-terostomy is unsuccessful, or if intractable portalhypertension or liver failure develops despite success-ful portoenterostomy (III).

    40. Liver transplantation should be considered forits ability to significantly prolong survival and im-prove quality of life by reducing pruritus in syndromicand nonsyndromic forms of intrahepatic cholestasis inchildren (III).

    41. Children with Alagille syndrome should havepreoperative assessment for congenital heart disease,which is common in this condition (III).

    42. In evaluating patients with cystic fibrosis forliver transplantation, careful assessment of lung dis-ease should be performed (III).

    Metabolic DiseasesA variety of metabolic diseases can result in progressive

    liver injury and cirrhosis. The most common metabolicdiseases in adults are -1-antitrypsin deficiency, Wilsondisease, hereditary hemochromatosis, and nonalcoholicsteatohepatitis (NASH). Common metabolic disordersthat can cause liver failure in children include -1-antit-rypsin deficiency, Wilson disease, tyrosinemia, glycogenstorage diseases, and neonatal hemochromatosis. Al-though these conditions account for less than 5% of theliver transplants performed in the United States, the out-come after transplantation in adults is excellent (1-yearsurvival, 88%; 3-year survival, 84%) and is even better inchildren (1-year survival, 94%; 5-year survival,92%).99,201

    -1-Antitrypsin Disease-1-Antitrypsin disease is the most common inherited

    cause of liver disease for which liver transplantation isperformed in children.202 Although the prevalence of thisgenetic disorder is high, only 10% to 15% of individualswith the PiZZ phenotype develop liver disease.203-205

    Children with -1-antitrypsin deficiency often presentwith neonatal cholestasis.206 Inmost of these children, thejaundice gradually resolves, but 25% develop cirrhosiswithin the first decade of life. However, many childrenwith cirrhosis remain stable for extended periods and donot require transplantation.207 Cirrhosis secondary to-1-antitrypsin disease also can have its first presentationin adults of any age.205 Men with -1-antitrypsin diseasehave an increased risk for HCC.208 In the evaluation of

    patients with liver disease, care must be taken not to basethe diagnosis of-1-antitrypsin disease on the serum-1-antitrypsin level. With significant liver insufficiency fromany cause, the serum level of this protein can be low be-cause of poor synthetic function and, because it is anacute-phase reactant, the level can be artificially elevatedin the setting of inflammation. Paradoxically, lung diseaseis uncommon in either children or adults with liver dis-ease secondary to -1-antitrypsin deficiency.

    Liver transplantation is the only effective treatment fordecompensated cirrhosis secondary to -1-antitrypsindisease. After transplantation, the donor -1-antitypsinphenotype is expressed and serum levels of -1-antitryp-sin return to the normal range within weeks after theoperation. Although reported series are small, the long-term outcome of these patients after liver transplantationis excellent.209-212

    Recommendations43. Liver transplantation is the only effective treat-

    ment for decompensated cirrhosis secondary to -1-antitrypsin deficiency (II-3).

    44. Careful assessment for lung disease should beperformed before transplantation in patients with cir-rhosis secondary to -1-antitrypsin deficiency, al-though coexistent disease in uncommon (III).

    Wilson DiseaseWilson disease is an autosomal recessive disorder of

    copper excretion that can result in either acute or chronichepatitis with liver failure.213,214 Other complications ofthe disease include neurological dysfunction, hemolyticanemia, and renal involvement. Although most patientswith chronic liver failure resulting from Wilson diseasehave low serum ceruloplasmin values, this level can beelevated with inflammation or acute liver disease or can bedepressed by the presence of severe liver disease of anyetiology. Most patients with chronic liver disease responddramatically to treatment with penicillamine, trientine,or oral zinc and have long-term sustained remission of thedisease with continued treatment.215 Liver transplanta-tion for chronic Wilson disease is necessary only for pa-tients with decompensated cirrhosis who fail to respondto medical therapy. However, patients who present withfulminant hepatic failure usually die unless urgent livertransplantation can be performed.216,217 Liver transplan-tation usually reverses all of the metabolic abnormalitiesassociated with Wilson disease. However, long-standingneurological dysfunction may not improve in some pa-tients.218-220 Survival rates have ranged from 80% to 90%1 year after transplantation. Although the reported seriesare small, long-term survival appears to be excellent.217,220

    12 MURRAY AND CARITHERS HEPATOLOGY, June 2005

  • Copper chelation and zinc therapy are not necessary aftertransplantation.

    Additional details on the management of Wilson dis-ease are contained within the practice guideline on Wil-son disease, which can be found at: https://www.aasld.org/eweb/docs/wilson_withcorrection.pdf.

    Recommendations45. Urgent liver transplantation is the only effec-

    tive option for patients with fulminant hepatic failureresulting from Wilson disease (II-3).

    46. Liver transplantation also is indicated for pa-tients with decompensated chronic disease who fail torespond to medical therapy (II-2).

    47. Liver transplantation is not recommended asprimary treatment for neurological Wilson diseasebecause the liver disease is stabilized by medical ther-apy in most of these individuals, and outcomes withliver transplantation are not always beneficial (III).

    Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis and CryptogenicCirrhosis

    NASH is a syndrome in which patients with no historyof alcohol abuse have histological features similar to thoseof alcoholic hepatitis.221,222Most patients withNASH arebetween 40 and 60 years of age, although the conditionhas been seen in children.223 The etiology of NASH isunknown; however, it is often associated with insulin re-sistance and obesity, type II diabetes, and hyperlipid-emia.224-226 There also is an association with prior surgicaltechniques for morbid obesity, particularly jejunoileal by-pass surgery, but not with more recent bariatric proce-dures. The prognosis of the condition has not been welldefined; however, a number of patients with NASH haveprogressed to cirrhosis and required liver transplanta-tion.227 No medical therapy has yet been proven to bebeneficial in patients with NASH.228 NASH may be theunderlying cause of many cases of cryptogenic cirrhosis,particularly among older diabetic women.229 There also isevidence for an increased risk of HCC in patients withNASH.230,231 A number of cases of severe recurrent dis-ease with progression to cirrhosis have been reported afterliver transplantation for NASH.227,232,233 These findings,and the observation that recurrent disease has been stabi-lized by gastric bypass surgery, suggest that the underlyingmetabolic defect may not be cured by transplantation.234

    End-stage liver disease from cryptogenic cirrhosis ac-counts for 7% to 14% of adults who undergo liver trans-plantation in the United States and Europe.235 Five-yearsurvival rates in adults with cryptogenic cirrhosis whohave undergone liver transplantation range from 72% to81%.235,236 Careful clinical-pathological correlation of

    liver biopsies obtained before and after transplantationoften reveals the underlying etiology, which is most com-monlyNASH, autoimmune hepatitis, or alcoholic cirrho-sis.237 After transplantation, a number of patients withpresumed cryptogenic cirrhosis have developed aggressiveNASHor autoimmune disease.232,233 Cryptogenic cirrho-sis in children often is an aggressive disease that progressesto liver failure, necessitating liver transplantation. Diseaserecurrence is not uncommon after transplantation.143

    Additional information on NASH is contained in the2002 AGA medical position statement on nonalcoholicfatty liver Disease, which can be found at: http://www2.gastrojournal.org/scripts/om.dll/serve?actionsearchDB&searchDBforart&artTypefullfree&idagast1231702.

    Recommendations48. Liver transplantation should be considered for

    selected patients with decompensated cirrhosis second-ary to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The post-transplantation care of these patients should includemetabolic monitoring (III).

    49. Liver transplantation should be considered forselected patients with decompensated cryptogenic cir-rhosis. These patients should be screened for metabolicdysregulation because of the possibility of underlyingnonalcoholic steatohepatitis (III).

    Hereditary HemochromatosisDespite the frequency of the genetic abnormality, liver

    failure requiring transplantation for hereditary hemo-chromatosis is quite uncommon.238,239 However, in someaffected individuals, chronic iron accumulation can resultin decompensated cirrhosis, cardiomyopathy, diabetesmellitus, arthritis, hypogonadism, and HCC. If iron de-pletion can be accomplished before the development ofcirrhosis or diabetes mellitus, long-term phlebotomy re-sults in a normal life expectancy.240 However, if cirrhosisis present at the time of diagnosis, survival is diminishedand patients remain at high risk for HCC despite ade-quate iron depletion.241 The prevalence of HCC seems tobe particularly high in patients with decompensated cir-rhosis.242

    Patients with end-stage liver disease secondary tochronic hepatitis C, alcohol abuse, or both can have ele-vated ferritin and transferrin saturation levels similar tothose seen in patients with hereditary hemochromato-sis.243-246 However, only a few of these patients have he-patic iron levels consistent with hemochromatosis andeven fewer have both increased hepatic iron stores andgenetic abnormalities consistent with hereditary hemo-chromatosis.245,247

    HEPATOLOGY, Vol. 41, No. 6, 2005 MURRAY AND CARITHERS 13

  • Liver transplantation is the only effective treatment forpatients with decompensated cirrhosis secondary to he-reditary hemochromatosis. However, there is consider-able controversy about the efficacy of the procedure.There are numerous reports of lower postoperative sur-vival in patients with hemochromatosis compared withpatients transplanted for other conditions.242,247-250 Fur-thermore, most, but not all, studies suggest that signifi-cant hepatic iron overload from any cause is associatedwith decreased survival after transplantation.247,249,251,252

    Although not well characterized, these suboptimal resultsseem to result from a high rate of postoperative infectionsas well as occasional deaths from cardiac failure and recur-rentHCC.242,247,249,253-255 It is uncertain whether this riskcan be reduced by aggressive phlebotomy before trans-plantation.

    Additional information on the diagnosis and manage-ment of patients with hemochromatosis are contained inthe practice guidelines on the diagnosis and managementof hemochromatosis, which can be found at: https://www.aasld.org/eweb/docs/hemochratosis.pdf.

    Recommendations50. All patients with newly diagnosed cirrhosis

    should be screened for hemochromatosis using sero-logic tests, with genetic testing in equivocal cases (III).

    51. Survival of transplanted patients with heredi-tary hemochromatosis is lower than in those trans-planted for other causes of liver disease. Due to theincreased risk of cardiac complications, a pretrans-plantation cardiac evaluation is essential (II-3).

    52. Efforts should be made to phlebotomize thesepatients before transplantation (III).

    Neonatal HemochromatosisNeonatal hemochromatosis is the leading cause of liver

    failure in neonates. Infants typically present with hepaticfailure within the first few days of life and usually diewithin months unless liver transplantation can be per-formed. Marked elevation of iron levels in nonreticuloen-dothelial organs can be documented by magneticresonance imaging or by detecting the presence of sider-osis in salivary glands.256 Although postoperative survivalhas been poor, liver transplantation seems to be the onlyeffective treatment for this devastating condition.

    Recommendation53. Liver transplantation is the only effective treat-

    ment for infants with severe neonatal hemochromato-sis. Urgent evaluation at a transplant center isrecommended (II-3).

    Tyrosinemia and Glycogen Storage DiseaseHereditary tyrosinemia type 1 is an inborn error of

    tyrosine metabolism. The most common presentation is asystemic illness associated with liver dysfunction in chil-dren a few months old. Cirrhosis and HCC are commonat the time of diagnosis. The underlying metabolic con-dition can be partially treated with dietary restriction oftyrosine and phenylalanine, but the metabolism of pro-tein results in continued formation of the toxic metabo-lites succinylacetone and succinyl acetoacetate.Formation of these metabolites can be reduced by provid-ing nitro-trifluoromethyl benzoyl cyclohexanedione(NTBC).257 Although NTBC has significantly improvedlongevity, with children achieving normal growth for upto 12 years in some cases, the long-term benefit of thisapproach has yet to be determined. Transplantation is stillrequired in many children who have an incomplete re-sponse to dietary restrictions and in those who have HCCat presentation or develop HCC during treatment.258

    Glycogen storage diseases are uncommon disorders ofglycogen metabolism that result in the accumulation ofabnormal glycogen in the liver. Children with these dis-orders can develop cirrhosis, ascites, portal hypertension,HCC, liver failure, and renal insufficiency. Althoughearly diagnosis and initiation of effective dietary therapyhas improved the outcome of children with some glyco-gen storage diseases, transplantation often is required forpoor metabolic control, multiple hepatic adenomas,HCC, or progressive liver failure.259

    Children with these conditions can have a variety ofrenal, cardiac, or neurological abnormalities that maycompromise the likelihood of survival with good qualityof life after liver transplantation, and must therefore beconsidered during the evaluation for the operation.259

    Recommendations54. Children with tyrosinemia who develop hepa-

    tocellular carcinoma (HCC) and meet the criteria forliver transplantation for HCC, should be high-prior-ity candidates (II-3).

    55. Children with tyrosinemia and glycogen stor-age diseases unresponsive to medical managementshould be considered for transplantation (II-3).

    56. Consideration of extrahepatic complications ofthe underlying disease must be carefully considered inpotential transplant candidates (III).

    Metabolic Diseases with Severe ExtrahepaticManifestations

    Selected patients with metabolic diseases may requireliver transplantation, not for liver failure but to preventsevere extrahepatic manifestations of the disease. Hyper-

    14 MURRAY AND CARITHERS HEPATOLOGY, June 2005

  • oxaluria and amyloidosis are the most common condi-tions in adults, whereas the most frequent conditions inchildren are the urea cycle defects and defects inbranched-chain amino acid metabolism.

    Amyloidosis and HyperoxaluriaPatients with hereditary amyloidosis, in which the mu-

    tant amyloid precursor protein is produced by the liver,may benefit from liver transplantation.260 The variants forwhich liver transplantation has been most successful in-clude mutations of the transthyretin, apolipoprotein A-1,and fibrinogen Aa amyloid precursors. The ideal timingof transplantation seems to be within the first year ofsymptoms and before the development of severe cardiac,renal, gastrointestinal, or neurological involvement.261

    Patients with type 1 primary hyperoxaluria also maybenefit from liver or combined liver and renal transplan-tation. In this autosomal recessive disorder, there is inad-equate conversion of glyoxylate to glycine because ofdeficiency of hepatic alanine glyoxylate aminotransferase.As a consequence, there is marked enhancement of theconversion of glyoxylate to oxalate. Clinical manifesta-tions of hyperoxaluria can first become apparent at anyage.262,263 Infants typically present with chronic renal fail-ure andmassive parenchymal oxalosis, but do not developrenal calculi.264 In contrast, older children and adults typ-ically present with symptoms of urolithiasis, with subse-quent progression to renal failure.

    Primary hyperoxaluria accounts for approximately 1%of all cases of end-stage renal disease in children.262 Ifdetected before the onset of significant renal disease, med-ical management can be quite effective.265 Renal trans-plantation has historically been the treatment of choicefor patients with end-stage renal disease. However, theresults have been disappointing: 3-year graft survival hasaveraged only 20% because of recurrent renal oxalosis.Improved patient survival has been documented in pa-tients who have undergone combined liverkidney trans-plantation compared with those who underwent kidneytransplantation alone. If these results are confirmed, com-bined liverkidney transplantation may prove to be thetreatment of choice for patients with primary oxaluria andrenal failure.266

    Recommendations57. Patients with amyloidosis should be considered

    for liver transplantation to correct the underlyingmetabolic defect before end organ damage has oc-curred (II-3).

    58. Liver transplantation, with or without com-bined kidney transplantation, is curative for hyperox-

    aluria and should be considered for patients with thisdisease (II-3).

    Urea Cycle and Branched-Chain Amino AcidDisorders

    Other metabolic conditions that result in significantextrahepatic morbidity include urea cycle defects (orni-thine transcarbamylase deficiency, citrullinemia, car-bamyl phosphate synthetase deficiency, argininosuccinicaciduria, and arginase deficiency) and disorders ofbranched-chain amino acids (maple syrup urine disease,methylmalonic acidemia, propionic acidemia, and isova-leric acidemia). In most of these conditions, protein-aceous meals or catabolism caused by normal childhoodillnesses result in profound hyperammonemia or meta-bolic acidosis, which can cause progressive and additivecentral nervous system insult with intellectual decline. Inpatients recognized to have aggressive disease that is notsatisfactorily treated with standard dietary and pharmaco-logical interventions, liver transplantation has been effec-tive.267,268 However, a high rate of neurologicalcomplications after transplantation has been observed inchildren with some of these conditions, particularly thebranched-chain amino acid disorders.269,270

    In considering these patients for liver transplantation,one must evaluate the reversibility of the enzyme defi-ciency with whole or partial organ liver transplantation.This must be scrutinized even more carefully if parent-to-child living-donor transplantation is being considered,because these are usually autosomal recessive disorders inwhich parents frequently have reduction of enzyme activ-ity, although to a lesser degree than their affected off-spring. Additionally, because the major reason for livertransplantation is to prevent the progression of neurolog-ical injury, the potential for functional health after trans-plantation must be estimated, based on the childs healthat the time of evaluation and the rapidity of decline.

    Children and adults with inborn errors in metabolismfor which liver transplantation is performed to correct theenzyme deficiency and halt progression of extra-hepaticorgan damage have normally functioning livers in otherrespects. Based on the PELD andMELD scoring systems,these patients would never have a score that would availthem of a deceased donor organ. It is clearly recognized,however, that their need is urgent. Consequently, thesepatients can be given priority for deceased donor organs.

    Recommendations59. Liver transplantation is indicated in children

    with metabolic diseases that cause progressive extra-he-patic injury resulting in significant morbidity and mor-tality that are not responsive to disease-specific

    HEPATOLOGY, Vol. 41, No. 6, 2005 MURRAY AND CARITHERS 15

  • medications or dietary modification and for which livertransplantation would result in the reversal of the en-zyme deficiency and metabolic derangement (II-3).

    60. Living related transplantation should be con-sidered only if the enzyme activity of the donor wouldsatisfactorily reverse the deficiency of the recipient(III).

    61. The degree of neurological injury before trans-plantation should be considered when selecting pa-tients for liver transplantation (III).

    Hepatic MalignanciesTimely liver transplantation often is the most effective

    treatment for many patients with primary hepatic malig-nancies. The exception is cholangiocarcinoma, whichusually recurs rapidly after transplantation.

    Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)HCC causes approximately 1 million deaths world-

    wide each year. Patients with chronic hepatitis B, chronichepatitis C, and hemochromatosis are at particularly highrisk for HCC. In addition, almost all untreated childrenwith tyrosinemia surviving to early childhood developHCC. The prognosis of patients with HCC is dependentboth on the stage of the tumor and the degree of liverfunction impairment.271 Although primary hepatic resec-tion has long been considered the treatment of choice forHCC, 5-year tumor-free survival rates are less than50%.272 Furthermore, most patients referred for resectionare rejected because the tumor is unresectable or becausehepatic reserve is considered inadequate.273 Even in pa-tients with well-compensated cirrhosis, perioperativemortality after surgical resection is extremely high if pa-tients have evidence of portal hypertension or elevatedserum bilirubin values.274 Radiofrequency ablation andpercutaneous alcohol injection are effective in tumorssmaller than 3 cm but are far less successful for largertumors.275,276 In selected patients with otherwise untreat-able tumors but relatively well-preserved liver function,chemoembolization has been shown to improve survival;however, these patients have much lower survival ratesthan those who are candidates for surgical or ablative ther-apy.277-279

    The early experience in liver transplantations for pa-tients with unresectable HCC was not encouraging. Al-though perioperative and short-term survival and qualityof life were much better than for patients who receivedtransplantation for decompensated cirrhosis, 90% ofthose transplanted for HCC developed recurrent diseasewithin 2 years.280,281 In contrast, patients with small tu-mors, especially those found incidentally at the time oftransplantation, did well.280 On the basis of these early

    results, HCC was considered a contraindication to trans-plantation for a number of years.

    With continued analysis of outcomes, a consensus hasgradually emerged that optimal results after transplanta-tion can be achieved in patients with a single lesion 2 cmor larger and less than 5 cm, or nomore than three lesions,the largest of which is less than 3 cm in size, and noradiographic evidence of extrahepatic disease.282 The al-location policy for donor livers in the United States wasrecently modified to give such patients enhanced priorityfor deceased donor organs. Since implementation of thismodification, the time on the donor waiting list for pa-tients with HCC has decreased from a mean of 2.3 yearsto 0.7 months.283

    The recent evolution in management of patients withHCC has been associated with a dramatic improvementin posttransplantation survival. For example, among pa-tients in the United States who received transplantationfor HCC during the periods 1987-1991, 1992-1996, and1997-2001 (all before the enhanced prioritization of de-ceased donor organs for patients with HCC), 5-year sur-vival increased from 25% to 46% to 61% (P .001).284

    Recommendations62. Liver transplantation should be viewed as the

    treatment of choice for selected patients with hepato-cellular carcinoma who are not candidates for surgicalresection and in whom malignancy is confined to theliver (II-2).

    63. Optimal results following transplantation areachieved in patients with a single lesion 2 cm or largerand less than 5 cm, or no more than three lesions, thelargest of which is less than 3 cm, and no radiographicevidence of extrahepatic disease (II-2).

    64. For ideal outcomes, patients who meet thesecriteria should receive a donor organ within 6 monthsof listing for transplantation (II-2).

    HepatoblastomaHepatoblastoma is the most common primary hepatic

    malignancy in children. This tumor usually is locally in-vasive with a better long-term prognosis than for HCC.As a result, successful results from transplantation can beachieved in children with much larger tumors. Resultsafter transplantation are excellent if the tumor is confinedto the liver. Even children with nonresectable hepatoblas-toma have an excellent prognosis for long-term tumor-free survival if liver transplantation followschemotherapy.285 However, these children usually do nothave underlying liver disease, and consequently the PELDscoring system does not adequately capture their need fortransplantation. Accordingly, the transplantation center

    16 MURRAY AND CARITHERS HEPATOLOGY, June 2005

  • may submit a request for enhanced prioritization for de-ceased donor organs, which is then reviewed through aregional peer review system.

    Recommendation65. Liver transplantation should be considered for

    children in whom hepatoblastoma is confined to theliver and is not resectable (II-3).

    Fibrolamellar Hepatocellular Carcinoma andHemangioendothelioma

    Patients with the fibrolamellar variant of HCC andepithelioid hemangioendothelioma have far better prog-noses than patients withHCC.286,287 In contrast toHCC,most patients with these tumors do not have evidence ofsignificant underlying liver disease. As a result, transplan-tation is uncommonly required. However, in contrast toHCC, large tumors are not contraindications to livertransplantation.288 Although experience is limited, theprognosis for children with this tumor who have under-gone transplantation remains guarded.289

    Recommendations66. When the tumor is not resectable, liver trans-

    plantation should be considered for patients withfibrolamellar HCC, if there is no evidence of extrahe-patic disease (III).

    67. When the tumor is not resectable, liver trans-plantation should be considered for patients with ep-ithelioid hemangioendothelioma (III).

    CholangiocarcinomaThe outcome of liver transplantation for cholangiocar-

    cinoma has been particularly frustrating. Even small tu-mors with no evidence of local invasion almost invariablyrecur within a few years after transplantation.290 Highlyselected patients may benefit from aggressive preoperativeradiotherapy and chemotherapy followed by transplanta-tion.291 However, based on current outcomes, transplan-tation of patients for cholangiocarcinoma should beconfined to careful experimental trials with approval by alocal institutional review board and informed consent ofpotential recipients.

    Recommendation68. Transplantation in patients with cholangiocar-

    cinoma should be confined to a few centers with well-designed clinical trials (III).

    Fulminant Hepatic FailureFulminant hepatic failure (FHF) is defined as the de-

    velopment of hepatic encephalopathy and profound co-

    agulopathy within 8 weeks of the onset of symptoms inpatients without preexisting liver disease.292 The variouscauses of this devastating condition include acetamino-phen overdose, drug-induced liver injury from othermedications, hepatitis A and B, ingestion of various hepa-totoxins, fatty liver of pregnancy, and Wilson disease.293

    In many cases, the precise etiology is never discovered.293

    There is no specific therapy for FHF.294 However, ifgiven appropriate critical care support, many patientsspontaneously recover. In these instances, recoverytypically is complete, with no evidence of residual liverinjury. The prognosis for spontaneous recovery de-pends on the patients age, the underlying etiology ofdisease, and the degree of encephalopathy.293,295,296

    Other important prognostic factors include acidosis,prolongation of prothrombin time values, and elevatedAPACHE II scores.297

    Survival after liver transplantation for FHF has im-proved dramatically over the past few years.298-300 How-ever, patients with FHF can develop cerebral edema,multiorgan failure, or cardiovascular collapse within daysto weeks after clinical presentation.301,302 As a result, anydelay in obtaining a donor organ can have fatal conse-quences. To address this urgency, a special category (sta-tus 1) was created to allow these patients to receive firstpreference for any deceased donor organ.

    Recommendations69. Patients with fulminant hepatic failure should

    be referred to a transplant center as quickly as possiblefor expectant critical care management (III).

    70. Patients predicted to have little chance of spon-taneous recovery should undergo transplantation assoon as possible (II-3).

    Miscellaneous ConditionsOther less frequent indications for liver transplanta-

    tion include liver failure secondary to hepatic vein occlu-sion (Budd-Chiari syndrome), selected metastaticneuroendocrine tumors, and polycystic disease.

    Budd-Chiari Syndrome. Budd-Chiari syndrome re-sults from occlusion of some or all of the hepatic veins.Patients with this condition can develop rapidly progres-sive liver failure or a more chronic form, with intractableascites as the major symptom. Most cases of Budd-Chiarisyndrome result from an underlying hypercoagulablestate. The most common cause is a myeloproliferativedisorder, such as polycythemia vera or essential thrombo-cytosis.303 A number of inherited hypercoagulable statesalso have been associated with hepatic vein occlusion.Among these, the factor V Leiden mutation seems to beparticularly important, accounting for 25% of cases in

    HEPATOLOGY, Vol. 41, No. 6, 2005 MURRAY AND CARITHERS 17

  • recent series.304 However, even in most cases of inheritedhypercoagulable states, Budd-Chiari syndrome typicallyoccurs in combination with a myeloproliferative disor-der.304,305 Another 10% of cases are caused by malignan-cies that cause compression or direct invasion of thehepatic veins or vena cava.

    A number of approaches have been used for treatmentof patients with Budd-Chiari syndrome. The three op-tions that seem to be most effective in patients with severedisease include the use of transjugular intrahepatic porto-systemic shunts, surgical shunts to decompress the swol-len liver, and liver transplantation. Long-term survival hasbeen documented with each approach; however, therealso has been considerable morbidity associated with eachprocedure.306-311 Survival after transplantation dependson the severity of disease at the time of transplantation,the extent of the thromboses, and the underlying cause ofthe condition. The best results have been achieved in pa-tients who have thrombosis limited to the hepatic veins,in whom the underlying cause of the syndrome can becorrected by replacement of the liver.312 In contrast, pa-tients with an underlyingmalignancy and those with bothhepatic and portal vein thrombosis have more periopera-tive complications and a lower long-term benefit.313,314 Asa result, choosing the optimal treatment for patients withthis condition can be quite difficult.315,316

    Recommendation71. Because there are a variety of effective options

    available, the selection of patients for liver transplan-tation for Budd-Chiari syndrome must be individu-alized, considering alternative therapeutic options(III).

    Metastatic Neuroendocrine Tumors. Metastasesfrom neuroendocrine tumors often are slow growing andcan be confined to the liver for long periods. A variety ofoptions are available for managing these patients, includ-ing systemic somatostatin or radioactive metaiodobenzyl-guanidine therapy, surgical excision, radiofrequencyablation, chemoembolization, and liver transplanta-tion.317,318 The primary indications for liver transplanta-tion include: (1) tumors not accessible to curative surgeryor major tumor reduction; (2) tumors not responding tomedical or interventional treatment; and (3) tumors caus-ing life-threatening hormonal symptoms.319 The out-come after transplantation for these tumors has beenmixed. Most patients have died of recurrent diseasewithin the first few years after the operation. However,there have been occasional long-term disease-free survi-vors.319,320

    Recommendation72. Liver transplantation for metastatic neuroen-

    docrine tumors should be confined to highly selectedpatients who are not candidates for surgical resectionin whom symptoms have persisted despite optimalmedical therapy (III).

    Polycystic Liver Disease. Liver failure is uncommonin patients with polycystic disease. However, occasionalpatients are so debilitated by abdominal pain, anorexia, orfatigue that consideration for liver transplantation is re-quested. The published experience with liver transplanta-tion is quite limited. Dramatic improvement insymptoms and quality of life