Inferior outcomes of liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma during early-COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

Table 1 Characteristics of the study population, n (%)

Variable	COVID, n = 518	Pre-COVID, n = 675	Pvalue
Recipient
Age, yr, median (IQR)	64.0 (60.0, 67.8)	63.0 (59.0, 67.0)	0.2
Male	405 (78)	529 (78)	0.98
Race, White	328 (63)	388 (57)	0.12
African American	36 (6.9)	47 (7.0)
Hispanic	108 (21)	153 (23)
Asian	39 (7.5)	69 (10)
Others	7 (1.4)	19 (2.8)
BMI median (IQR) kg/m2	29.3 (25.7, 33.2)	28.9 (25.3, 33.0)	0.26
Etiology, HCV	180 (35)	258 (38)	0.034
HBV	33 (6.4)	43 (6.4)
ALD	95 (18)	149 (22)
NASH	118 (23)	107 (16)
Others	92 (18)	118 (17)
Blood Type, A	203 (39)	235 (35)	0.13
AB	18 (3.5)	27 (4.0)
B	76 (15)	82 (12)
O	221 (43)	331 (49)
Diabetes	208 (40)	255 (38)	0.4
HCV positive serostatus	229 (46)	319 (49)	0.28
Previous abdominal surgery	229 (45)	330 (49)	0.19
Portal vein thrombosis	66 (13)	106 (16)	0.19
Hemodialysis at transplant	8 (1.6)	8 (1.2)	0.59
TIPSS	30 (5.8)	32 (4.7)	0.42
AFP ng/mL, median (IQR)	6.0 (3.0, 15.0)	7.0 (4.0, 16.0)	0.21
MELD score, median (IQR)	10 (8, 14)	10 (8, 14)	0.33
MELD exception	510 (98)	658 (97)	0.24
Mechanical ventilation	0 (0)	2 (0.3)	0.51
Waiting days, median (IQR)	279 (221, 392)	300 (228, 424)	0.041
Patient location at transplant			0.62
ICU at time of transplant	2 (0.4)	5 (0.7)
Non-ICU inpatient at time of transplant	19 (3.7)	31 (4.6)
Outpatient	487 (96)	639 (95)
Donor
Age, yr, median (IQR)	45.0 (32.0, 59.0)	44.0 (30.0, 56.0)	0.027
Male	326 (63)	421 (62)	0.84
Race, White	322 (62)	428 (63)	0.058
African American	104 (20)	117 (17)
Hispanic	73 (14)	92 (14)
Asian	15 (2.9)	17 (2.5)
Others	4 (0.8)	21 (3.1)
BMI median (IQR) kg/m2	27.8 (24.4, 33.2)	27.0 (23.8, 30.9)	< 0.001
Blood Type, A	204 (39)	237 (35)	0.12
AB	14 (2.7)	16 (2.4)
B	80 (15)	88 (13)
O	220 (42)	334 (49)
HCV NAT positive	37 (7.1)	39 (5.8)	0.34
HCV antibody positive	59 (11)	76 (11)	0.94
Donor causes of death: Anoxia	234 (45)	265 (39)	0.026
Cerebrovascular accident	158 (31)	221 (33)
Head trauma	104 (20)	172 (25)
Central nervous system tumor	2 (0.4)	4 (0.6)
Others	20 (3.9)	13 (1.9)
Donor after cardiac death	62 (12)	80 (12)	0.95
Organ Share, Local	241 (47)	508 (75)	< 0.001
Regional	174 (34)	145 (21)
National	103 (20)	22 (3.3)
Donor risk index, median (IQR)	1.68 (1.45, 2.06)	1.59 (1.35, 1.91)	< 0.001

COVID: Coronavirus disease; IQR: Interquartile range; BMI: Body mass index; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; ALD: Alcoholic liver disease; NASH: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; TIPSS: Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt; AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; MELD: Model for end-stage liver disease; ICU: Intensive care units; NAT: Nucleic acid amplification test.