Outcomes of normothermic machine perfusion of liver grafts in repeat liver transplantation (NAPLES initiative).

BACKGROUND: Retransplantation candidates are disadvantaged owing to lack of good-quality liver grafts. Strategies that can facilitate transplantation of suboptimal grafts into retransplant candidates require investigation. The aim was to determine whether late liver retransplantation can be performed safely with suboptimal grafts, following normothermic machine perfusion. METHODS: A prospectively enrolled group of patients who required liver retransplantation received a suboptimal graft preserved via normothermic machine perfusion. This group was compared with both historical and contemporaneous cohorts of patient who received grafts preserved by cold storage. The primary outcome was 6-month graft and patient survival. RESULTS: The normothermic machine perfusion group comprised 26 patients. The historical (cold storage 1) and contemporaneous (cold storage 2) groups comprised 31 and 25 patients respectively. The 6-month graft survival rate did not differ between groups (cold storage 1, 27 of 31, cold storage 2, 22 of 25; normothermic machine perfusion, 22 of 26; P = 0.934). This was despite the normothermic machine perfusion group having significantly more steatotic grafts (8 of 31, 7 of 25, and 14 of 26 respectively; P = 0.006) and grafts previously declined by at least one other transplant centre (5 of 31, 9 of 25, and 21 of 26; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: In liver retransplantation, normothermic machine perfusion can safely expand graft options without compromising short-term outcomes.

Liver transplantation is a life-saving procedure for many different diseases. In the UK, one in 10 patients awaiting transplant have had a previous liver transplant. These retransplant operations are complex, and the general belief is that a good-quality donor liver graft is required for best outcomes. However, there is a significant shortage of good-quality organs for liver transplantation, so many patients awaiting retransplantation spend longer on the waiting list. This study investigated whether a new technology, called normothermic machine perfusion, could be used to preserve lower-quality donor livers and have successful outcomes for patients undergoing retransplantation. Traditionally, good-quality livers are preserved in an ice box and the study compared the outcomes of these two different approaches. The aim was to prove that normothermic machine perfusion improves access to transplantation for this group of patients, without compromising outcomes. A group of patients who underwent retransplantation and received a lesser-quality liver preserved with normothermic machine perfusion was compared with two groups of patients who had received a transplant with traditional ice-box preservation. The complications, graft, and patient survival of the former group was compared with those in the latter two groups who underwent liver retransplantation with better-quality liver grafts. The rate of survival and adverse surgical outcomes were comparable between the groups of patients who received a liver preserved via traditional ice-box preservation, and those who received a lesser-quality liver preserved via normothermic machine perfusion. Normothermic machine perfusion can potentially expand the number of suitable donor livers available for retransplant candidates.

The Glasgow alcoholic hepatitis score identifies patients who may benefit from corticosteroids.

INTRODUCTION: There is no consensus on the pharmacological treatment of alcoholic hepatitis. The Glasgow alcoholic hepatitis score (GAHS) has been shown to be more accurate than the modified Maddrey's discriminant function (mDF) in the prediction of outcome from alcoholic hepatitis. This study aimed to determine whether the GAHS was able to identify those patients who would benefit from corticosteroids. METHODS: 225 patients with an mDF greater than or equal to 32 from five hospital centres in the United Kingdom were reviewed. Patient survival relative to the GAHS and the use of corticosteroids was recorded. RESULTS: 144 patients with an mDF greater than or equal to 32 (64%) also had a GAHS greater than or equal to 9. There was no difference in survival between untreated or corticosteroid-treated patients for those with a GAHS less than 9. For patients with a GAHS greater than or equal to 9 the 28-day survival for untreated and corticosteroid-treated patients was 52% and 78% (p = 0.002), and 84-day survival was 38% and 59% (p = 0.02), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with an mDF greater than or equal to 32, there was no appreciable benefit from treatment with corticosteroids in patients with a GAHS less than 9. Patients with a GAHS greater than or equal to 9 have an extremely poor prognosis if they are not treated with corticosteroids, or if such treatment is contraindicated.

Diagnostic laparoscopy by physicians: we should do it.

Only a few centres in the UK practise diagnostic laparoscopy and liver biopsy; in comparison, laparoscopy is widely practised by physicians in Europe, the Far East and in the US. We consider the role of diagnostic laparoscopy in the assessment of liver disease in the 1990s, and describe the technique of laparoscopy, including how it may be performed safely in the endoscopy suite, under local anesthesia with mild sedation and analgesia, enabling direct visualization of the liver. We examine potential complications and contraindications. Complication rate and mortality are similar to that for percutaneous liver biopsy. Finally, the invaluable role of laparoscopy in diagnosing and staging chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver tumours, hepatic infiltration, infection and structural abnormalities is considered.

The biology of interferon-alpha and the clinical significance of anti-interferon antibodies.

The therapeutic indications for Interferons (IFNs) have dramatically increased in number in recent years to include many different diseases of viral, malignant, angiogenic, allergic, inflammatory and fibrotic origin. In particular, the current pandemic of hepatitis C virus infection has further stimulated the requirement for a comprehensive understanding of both the mechanism of action of IFN and the reasons for therapeutic failure. The role of anti-IFN antibodies as a cause of treatment failure has been a particularly controversial area. In this review we will outline the biology and proposed mechanisms of action of IFN-alpha (IFN-alpha) and discuss the incidence, methods of detection and clinical significance of anti-IFN antibodies.

Screening for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major worldwide health problem and the most common cause of cancer induced mortality. This review article examines the natural history of HCC and the known risk factors, as well as evaluating the current methods of detection of HCC and their impact on patient survival.

Assessment of liver histology in patients with hepatitis C and normal transaminase levels.

OBJECTIVE: To compare liver histology in patients with hepatitis C infection (HCV) between patients with normal and abnormal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and examine its relationship with HCV genotype and route of infection. METHODS: One hundred consecutive patients with known HCV presenting for diagnostic laparoscopy and liver biopsy were studied. Route of infection was noted and ALT measured on the day of biopsy and HCV genotype determined. Hepatic pathology was analysed using the Edinburgh scoring system (ESS). RESULTS: Fifteen patients had normal ALT, of whom three (20%) had cirrhosis and 10 (66.7%) fibrosis. Of patients with raised ALT, cirrhosis and fibrosis were similarly found in 14 (16.5%) and 62 (72.9%) respectively. Severe, moderate and mild inflammation occurred in one (6.7%), four (26.7%) and 10 (66.6%) patients with normal ALT compared with 17 (20%), 50 (58.8%) and 18 (21.2%) of those with raised ALT (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in age, route of infection or genotype between those with normal and raised ALT levels. CONCLUSION: Of patients with normal ALT at time of liver biopsy, a significant minority have cirrhosis or significant hepatic inflammation. Liver biopsy is essential in HCV infection as a guide to both therapy and prognosis.

The impact of chronic hepatitis C virus infection on HIV disease and progression in intravenous drug users.

OBJECTIVE: It is unclear whether co-infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) can influence HIV related morbidity or mortality, either by accelerating HIV-related disease progression, or by contributing to end stage liver disease. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of HCV infection on the severity and progression of HIV disease in a cohort of Edinburgh intravenous drug users (IDUs). METHODS: In 240 (47%) out of 508 patients in the Edinburgh IDU cohort both HIV seroconversion dates and anti-HCV serology were available. Demographic variables and HIV-related progression between anti-HCV positive and anti-HCV negative groups were compared. Parameters assessed included clinical endpoints (time of development of significant symptoms attributable to HIV (CDC stage IV), time of development of AIDS, and time of death) and immunological endpoints (time of CD4+ counts dropping below 200/mm3, 100/mm3 and 50/mm3). RESULTS: Two hundred and two out of 240 patients (84%) had positive anti-HCV serology. There was no significant difference in the frequency of clinical and immunological endpoints between the anti-HCV positive and negative groups. Progression analysis from HIV seroconversion to HIV related clinical endpoints indicated that anti-HCV serology was not a significant factor influencing the rate of HIV progression (relative risks (RR) for anti-HCV positive group: seroconversion to CDC IV, 1.01; seroconversion to AIDS, 1.05; seroconversion to death, 0.90). Likewise, HCV serostatus did not significantly affect progression to immunological endpoints (RR for anti-HCV positive group: seroconversion to CD4+ < 200/mm3, 1.04; seroconversion to CD4+ < 100/mm3, 1.13; seroconversion to CD4+ < 50/mm3, 0.97. Overall mortality from end stage liver failure was 4% in HCV-seropositive patients without AIDS. This suggests that HCV has had a clinically (though not statistically) significant impact on overall survival in this cohort. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that HCV co-infection does not influence the rate of progression to either clinical or immunological endpoints in our population of HIV-infected drug users. Further data are required to assess the effect of HIV on thge progression of HCV-related liver disease.

Serum hyaluronan--a non-invasive test for diagnosing liver cirrhosis.

INTRODUCTION: Hyaluronan is a glucosaminoglycan synthesized by the mesenchymal cells and degraded by hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells by a specific receptor-mediated process. Elevated levels are associated with the sinusoidal capillarization that is seen in cirrhosis. METHODOLOGY: Serum hyaluronan was measured, using a radiometric assay (Pharmacia, Sweden) in 221 patients with biopsy-proven chronic liver disease of a variety of aetiologies (alcohol n = 70, autoimmune chronic active hepatitis n = 23, primary biliary cirrhosis n = 17, hepatitis C n = 69, cryptogenic n = 15, various n = 27). All patients were fasted, and their liver function tests, full blood count, prothrombin time and Child-Pugh score were assessed at the time of the liver biopsy. RESULTS: Hyaluronan levels (microg/l) were significantly higher in patients with liver cirrhosis (cirrhosis n = 127, mean 440, 95% CI 367-515) (P < 0.0001) compared with hepatic fibrosis (n = 23, mean 144, 95% CI 69-190), chronic hepatitis (n = 60, mean 63, 95% CI 37-91) and fatty liver (n = 11, mean 107, 95% CI 37-177). Within the cirrhotic population, there was no significant difference in hyaluronan levels between different aetiologies, but hyaluronan level increased proportionally to the severity of cirrhosis. Overall, a hyaluronan level > 100 microg/l had a 78% specificity and 83% sensitivity for diagnosing cirrhosis, while the specificity was increased to 96% for all patients with hyaluronan levels > 300 microg/l. The highest specificity and sensitivity were seen at a cut-off value of 100 microg/l in patients with alcohol-associated liver disease (89%, 87%) and hepatitis C (93%, 72%) respectively. Within patient cohorts, there was a significant correlation (P < 0.01) between hyaluronan and albumin, platelet count and bilirubin, but not with alanine aminotransferase. CONCLUSION: Measurement of fasted serum hyaluronan reliably differentiated cirrhotic from non-cirrhotic liver disease and can be regarded as a useful test in the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis, particularly when a liver biopsy is contraindicated.

A comparison of AIDS-defining events and subsequent CDC stage IV events in IDUs and gay men.

The two major risk groups for acquisition of HIV in the UK are gay men and IDUs. Individuals from these risk groups vary in a number of respects in their life-style, which have the potential to affect the course of their HIV disease. This study compares gay men and IDUs from the Lothian Region of Scotland with respect to their AIDS defining diagnosis and subsequent CDC (Centers for Disease Control) stage IV events. Comparisons were made between the two risk groups for their AIDS defining diagnosis by performing chi square tests, Mann-Whitney tests and logistic regression. Subsequent CDC stage IV events were analysed using ordinal logistic regression and Cox regression. 89 IDUs and 56 gay men were included in the analysis. Oesophageal candida was a commoner AIDS-defining diagnosis in IDUs than gay men and Kaposi's sarcoma was diagnosed more frequently in gay men than IDUs. Subsequently oesophageal candida was also commoner in IDUs and CMV retinitis was seen more frequently in gay men. The role of prophylaxis and differences in diet are discussed as possible causes of the observed differences in the incidence of oesophageal candida. The higher incidence of CMV retinitis in gay men probably reflects the high level of sexual acquisition of CMV.

The effect of serum from liver cancer patients on the growth and function of primary and immortalised hepatocytes.

A limiting factor in the efficacy of bioartificial liver (BAL) for the treatment of liver failure is the toxicity of the patients' serum to the hepatocytes in the device. This study investigates the interaction of liver cancer patient serum with primary and immortalised rat hepatocytes. Liver cancer serum increased the growth rate of immortalised hepatocytes, without affecting reduced glutathione levels. The activities of DT-diaphorase and pi glutathione-S-transferase (GST), enzymes associated with de-differentiation, were also increased. Exposure of primary hepatocytes to liver cancer serum resulted in a decrease in cytochrome P450 (CYP) content, and in P450 dependent metabolism of testosterone. Formation of 2-alpha- and 6-beta- hydroxy testosterone was decreased. These reactions are predominantly associated with CYP 2C11 and 3A1 respectively in normal rat liver. The activity of total GST was also decreased, although that of the pi isoenzyme of GST was not affected. Our results suggest that exposure of hepatocytes in a bioreactor to liver cancer patient serum will result in overgrowth of cells, if proliferating cells are being used, and in de-differentiation. The serum may have to be pretreated with adsorbants to remove toxins prior to BAL treatment.

Haematological malignancies presenting with acute liver injury: a single-centre experience.

INTRODUCTION: Early recognition and identification of the underlying cause of acute liver injury (ALI) is crucial in instituting medical treatment and assessing the need for liver transplantation. Haematological malignancies have been reported to present as ALI with progression to acute liver failure but experience is limited. AIM: Review our experience of ALI secondary to haematological malignancies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients admitted to the liver unit with ALI secondary to a haematological malignancy between 1996 and 2006 were identified. A retrospective review was made of their case notes and our database. RESULTS: Of the 752 cases of ALI, six cases of ALI secondary to haematological malignancy were identified. Common features were a prodromal illness (median duration of 5 weeks; range 2-6 weeks) and jaundice (median bilirubin 208 micromol/l; range 112-238 micromol/l). The majority of patients (5/6) had hepatomegaly. Liver biopsy was performed in two patients and confirmed the diagnosis in both cases. In other cases, the diagnosis was made following lymph node biopsy (1), bone marrow examination (2) or from post-mortem examination (1). Median time from jaundice to encephalopathy was 12 days; range 1-22 days. A single patient underwent liver transplantation but died in the immediate post-operative period. All patients died soon after admission with a median survival of 8 days (range 3-26 days). CONCLUSION: Haematological malignancy should be considered in ALI patients presenting with a prodromal illness, jaundice and hepatomegaly. Biopsy is essential to confirm the diagnosis but the benefit of definitive therapy such as chemotherapy and/or transplantation in this setting is unclear and survival is poor.

Analysis of factors predictive of mortality in alcoholic hepatitis and derivation and validation of the Glasgow alcoholic hepatitis score.

INTRODUCTION: Alcoholic hepatitis is associated with a high short term mortality. We aimed to identify those factors associated with mortality and define a simple score which would predict outcome in our population. METHODS: We identified 241 patients with alcoholic hepatitis. Clinical and laboratory data were recorded on the day of admission (day 1) and on days 6-9. Stepwise logistic regression was used to identify variables related to outcome at 28 days and 84 days after admission. These variables were included in the Glasgow alcoholic hepatitis score (GAHS) and its ability to predict outcome assessed. The GAHS was validated in a separate dataset of 195 patients. RESULTS: The GAHS was derived from five variables independently associated with outcome: age (p = 0.001) and, from day 1 results, serum bilirubin (p<0.001), blood urea (p = 0.019) and, from day 6-9 results, serum bilirubin (p<0.001), prothrombin time (p = 0.002), and peripheral blood white blood cell count (p = 0.001). The GAHS on day 1 had an overall accuracy of 81% when predicting 28 day outcome. In contrast, the modified discriminant function had an overall accuracy of 49%. Similar results were found using information at 6-9 days and when predicting 84 day outcome. The accuracy of the GAHS was confirmed by the validation study of 195 patients The GAHS was equally accurate irrespective of the use of the international normalised ratio or prothrombin time ratio, or if the diagnosis of alcoholic hepatitis was biopsy proven or on the basis of clinical assessment. CONCLUSIONS: Using variables associated with mortality we have derived and validated an accurate scoring system to assess outcome in alcoholic hepatitis. This score was able to identify patients at greatest risk of death throughout their admission.

Liver transplantation of patients in end-stage cirrhosis.

The success of liver transplantation has resulted in its widespread use for end-stage liver disease; 1- and 5-year survival rates of 70-90% and 60-80% respectively have been reported. Indications for assessment for liver transplantation are now evidence-based and early referral is recommended, correlating with improved patient survival. The management of patients on the waiting list for liver transplantation is designed to prevent complications of liver disease and to avoid therapeutic misadventures. Following transplantation, rejection and infection dominate post-operative complications, and improvements in their prevention and treatment have also correlated with improved patient survival. The development and introduction into clinical practice of a variety of immunosuppressive agents has offered a bewildering array of therapeutic options but with a lack of evidence on which to select optimal immunosuppression. Similarly, difficulties remain in the treatment of some of the complications arising from liver transplantation such as recurrence of disease and complications of immunosuppression.

Hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma is regarded as an aggressive tumour with a poor short-term prognosis. Recent research has suggested that additional aetiological factors may be involved in hepatocarcinogenesis. The development of orthotopic liver transplantation has offered renewed hope for disease-free survival.