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Risk factors for recurrence of hepatitis C after liver transplantation
Author(s) -
Herrero J. Ignacio,
Peña Andrés de,
Quiroga Jorge,
Sangro Bruno,
Garcia Nicolás,
Sola Iosu,
Cienfuegos Javier A.,
Civeira Maria P.,
Prieto Jesús
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
liver transplantation and surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.814
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1527-6473
pISSN - 1074-3022
DOI - 10.1002/lt.500040406
Subject(s) - medicine , liver transplantation , immunosuppression , cirrhosis , gastroenterology , univariate analysis , hepatocellular carcinoma , transplantation , hepatitis c , hepatitis , liver biopsy , multivariate analysis , surgery , biopsy
Recurrent hepatitis C is a frequent complication after liver transplantation for hepatitis C virus–related cirrhosis, but risk factors related to its development remain ill defined. Twenty‐three patients receiving a primary liver graft for hepatitis C virus–related cirrhosis and with an assessable biopsy performed at least 6 months after liver transplantation were studied retrospectively. The end point of this study was to look for risk factors associated with the development of histologic hepatitis C in the graft. Thirty‐six major variables were studied, and those reaching significance by univariate analysis were included in a multivariate analysis. Eighteen patients (78%) developed posttransplant hepatitis C. On univariate analysis, six variables showed significant predictive value: increased immunosuppression for treatment of acute rejection; pretransplant hepatocellular carcinoma; cumulative doses of prednisone at 3, 6, and 12 months after transplantation; and mean blood trough levels of cyclosporine in the first 6 months posttransplantation. On multivariate analysis, two variables retained independent statistical significance as predictors of hepatitis C recurrence, namely receipt of antirejection therapy ( P = .0087) and lower mean cyclosporine levels in the first 6 months after transplantation ( P = .0134). Therefore, recurrence of hepatitis C after liver transplantation seems to be at least partially related to posttransplantation immunosuppressive therapy.