Premium
When is a patient too well and when is a patient too sick for a liver transplant?
Author(s) -
Merion Robert M.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
liver transplantation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.814
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1527-6473
pISSN - 1527-6465
DOI - 10.1002/lt.20265
Subject(s) - medicine , liver transplantation , waiting list , liver disease , model for end stage liver disease , intensive care medicine , stage (stratigraphy) , transplantation , paleontology , biology
Key Points 1 Liver transplantation is currently offered as a therapeutic option for patients with a wide range of end‐stage liver diseases. 2 Conventional wisdom suggests that patients who receive a liver transplant have a greater expected lifetime when compared to comparable candidates on the waiting list. 3 The model for end‐stage liver disease (MELD) scoring system is an excellent predictor of mortality on the waiting list and also predicts mortality after liver transplantation. 4 The combination of waiting list mortality risk and posttransplant mortality risk assessed by MELD and other factors can be used to estimate whether candidates are likely to derive a survival benefit from a liver transplant. (Liver Transpl 2004;10:S69–S73.)