Factors Associated with Waitlist Time on Liver Transplantation

Abstract

Objectives: Liver transplantation (LT) is the main therapy for patients with cirrhosis or fulminant liver failure. However, there is a disproportion between the demand and availability of organs, such that the waitlist mortality ranged from 20 to 38% when the only allocation criterion was the time of inclusion on the waitlist. Brazil then adopted the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, aiming to prioritize patients with a higher risk of death for LT. !erefore, this study aimed to determine factors associated with waitlist time for LT. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of adult patients listed for LT from October 2012 to December 2019 in a single state in Brazil. Results: !e study analyzes 1,262 patients (869 males, 68.91%; median age, 53.33 ± 11.48 years; median waitlist time, 103.88 ± 162.05 days; median MELD Sodium [MELD-Na] score of 22.41 ± 6.09). Alcoholic liver cirrhosis (n = 369; 29.24%) and chronic viral hepatitis (n = 295; 23.38%) were the most prevalent reasons for LT. Blood groups O (n = 534; 42.31%) and A (n = 474; 37.56%) prevailed among the recipients. !e state capital and its metropolitan region accounted for 91.20% (n = 1,151) of all liver transplants performed. Most donors were deceased (n = 1,258; 99.68%). Patients with MELD-Na scores > 21 (p < 0.001), non-O blood group (p = 0.002), age < 53 years (p = 0.003), and those listed ≥ 2017 spent ≤ 30 days on the waitlist (p < 0.001). Conclusion: A waitlist period of ≤ 30 days was associated with higher MELD-Na scores, younger ages, non-O blood groups, and LT listings before 2017.