More Severe Deficits in Performance Status at Time of Liver Transplant is Associated With Significantly Higher Risk of Death Following Liver Transplantation. Journal of clinical gastroenterology McCabe, P., Gish, R. G., Cheung, R., Wong, R. J. 2019

Abstract

GOAL: To evaluate the impact of Karnofsky Performance Status score (KPSS) at the time of liver transplantation (LT) on post-LT survival.BACKGROUND: While the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score is used to prioritize individuals for LT, it does not specifically incorporate functional status into patient assessment for LT.METHODS: Using 2005 to 2016 United Network for Organ Sharing data, all adults (age 18y and above) undergoing LT were identified. The association of KPSS at the time of LT (KPSS 1: functional status 80% to 100%, KPSS 2: 60% to 70%, KPSS 3: 40% to 50%, KPSS 4: 10% to 30%) with post-LT survival was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier methods and adjusted multivariate logistic regression models.RESULTS: Among 66,397 LT recipients (68% male, 72% non-Hispanic white, 22% hepatocellular carcinoma, median age: 55 to 57), women were more likely to be KPSS 4 at the time of LT compared with men (27.95% vs. 22.79%; P<0.001) and African Americans (25.43% vs. 23.03%; P<0.001) and Hispanics (31.69% vs. 23.03%; P<0.001) were more likely to be KPSS 4 than non-Hispanic whites. Worse KPSS at LT correlated with higher post-LT mortality [compared with KPSS 1: Hazard Ratio (HR) for KPSS 2: 1.16, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10-1.22; HR for KPSS 3: 1.40; 95% CI: 1.32-1.49; HR for KPSS 4: 1.67; 95% CI: 1.55-1.79]. This increased mortality seen with worse KPSS was observed among all liver disease etiologies and in patients with and without hepatocellular carcinoma.CONCLUSIONS: Worse functional status at the time of LT is strongly associated with higher risk of mortality following LT, emphasizing the importance of optimizing performance status in the preoperative period.

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