Improving the Prediction of Mortality in the High Model for End-Stage Liver Disease Score Liver Transplant Recipient: A Role for the Left Atrial Volume Index.

Left atrial volume index (LAVI) is an echocardiographic measurement used in assessing diastolic dysfunction, and is associated with mortality in many populations. In this retrospective cohort study including 254 patients, we investigated whether LAVI is an independent predictor of post-liver transplantation mortality using multivariable Cox regression. We found that elevated LAVI was associated with increased mortality among patients with high Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores, but not among those with lower MELD scores, indicating that recipients with high LAVI values and high MELD scores may represent patients at an increased risk of post-transplantation mortality. Specifically, there was a statistically significant interaction between LAVI and MELD score (P = .006) such that for patients with MELD scores ≥33, LAVI >27 mL/m2 was associated with increased mortality (hazard ratio = 2.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-5.20; P = .04.) We further show that the inclusion of LAVI in a multivariable model led to a statistically significant improvement in the ability to predict post-liver transplantation mortality, with an increase in the model's C-statistic from 0.68 to 0.71. The incorporation of LAVI in multivariable risk models may be useful in the selection of transplant recipients with high MELD scores, and may be helpful in decreasing the probability of futile transplantation.

Liver transplantation outcome in patients with angiographically proven coronary artery disease: a multi-institutional study.

Over the last decade the age of liver transplant (LT) recipients and the likelihood of coronary artery disease (CAD) in this population have increased. There are no multicenter studies that have examined the impact of CAD on LT outcomes. In this historical cohort study, we identified adult LT recipients who underwent angiography prior to transplantation at seven institutions over a 12-year period. For each patient we recorded demographic data, recipient and donor risk factors, duration of follow-up, the presence of angiographically proven obstructive CAD (≥50% stenosis) and post-LT survival. Obstructive CAD was present in 151 of 630 patients, the CAD(+) group. Nonobstructive CAD was found in 479 patients, the CAD(-) group. Patient survival was similar for the CAD(+) group (adjusted HR 1.13, CI = [0.79, 1.62], p = 0.493) compared to the CAD(-) group. The CAD(+) patients were further stratified into severe (CADsev, >70% stenosis, n = 96), and moderate CAD (CADmod, 50-70% stenosis, n = 55) groups. Survival for the CADsev (adjusted HR = 1.26, CI = [0.83, 1.91], p = 0.277) and CADmod (adjusted HR = 0.93, CI = [0.52, 1.66], p = 0.797) groups were similar to the CAD(-) group. We conclude that when current CAD treatment strategies are employed prior to transplant, post-LT survival is not significantly different between patients with and without obstructive CAD.