Proposing a Sex-Adjusted Sodium-Adjusted MELD Score for Liver Transplant Allocation.
JAMA Surg
; 157(7): 618-626, 2022 07 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35583884
ABSTRACT
Importance Liver allocation is determined by the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD), a scoring system based on 4 laboratory measurements. During the MELD era, sex disparities in liver transplant have increased and there are no modifications to MELD based on sex. Objective:
To use laboratory values stored in electronic health records to describe population-level sex differences in all MELD laboratory values (in healthy individuals and patients with liver disease) and propose a sex adjustment. Design, Setting, andParticipants:
A retrospective cohort study was conducted from March 2019 to April 2020 to evaluate sex differences in laboratory values in liver transplant patients, patients with liver disease who did not undergo transplant, and healthy controls. Primary analyses were conducted in Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC)'s deidentified electronic health record system. Replication analyses were conducted in the All of Us Research Program. Simulations of a sex-adjusted sodium-adjusted MELD (MELDNa) score were completed using liver transplant waiting list data from the liver simulated allocation modeling system. Patients who regularly used VUMC with measurements for any MELDNa component laboratory were included in the analyses. Analysis took place from November 2019 to March 2021. Exposures Electronic health record-reported sex. Main Outcomes andMeasure:
Creatinine, bilirubin, international normalized ratio, and sodium levels.Results:
The VUMC sample was composed of 623â¯931 individuals (359â¯976 [57.7%] female) with a median (IQR) age of 44 (23-61) years. All component MELDNa laboratory values and calculated MELDNa scores yielded significant sex differences within VUMC (mean [SD] creatinine male, 0.99 [0.39] mg/dL; female, 0.79 [0.30] mg/dL; P < .001; bilirubin male, 0.76 [0.83] mg/dL; female, 0.58 [0.64] mg/dL; P < .001; international normalized ratio of prothrombin rate male, 1.24 [0.42]; female, 1.20 [0.40]; P < .001; sodium male, 139.00 [2.36] mEq/L; female, 139.03 [2.28] mEq/L; P < .001), resulting in MELDNa scoring that disadvantaged female individuals. This pattern persisted when the sample was divided into healthy controls, individuals with liver disease who did not undergo transplant, and patients who did undergo liver transplant. Female transplant patients had a greater number of decompensation traits (mean [SD] male, 1.34 [1.11]; female, 1.60 [1.09]; P = .005), despite having lower MELDNa scores (mean [SD] male, 21.72 [6.11]; female, 20.21 [6.15]; P = .005), indicating MELDNa scores are not accurately representing disease severity in female individuals. In simulations, the sex-adjusted MELDNa score modestly increased female transplant rate and decreased overall death. Conclusions and Relevance These results demonstrate pervasive sex differences in all laboratory values used in MELDNa scoring and highlight the need and utility of a sex-adjustment to the MELDNa protocol.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Transplante de Fígado
/
Doença Hepática Terminal
/
Saúde da População
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Adult
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Female
/
Humans
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Male
/
Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article