Original Article
Copyright ©2013 Baishideng Publishing Group Co.
World J Hepatol. Jan 27, 2013; 5(1): 26-32
Published online Jan 27, 2013. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v5.i1.26
Table 1 Patient, operative and donor characteristics in intensive care unit and non-intensive care unit patients
VariableICU patients(n = 39)Non-ICU patients(n = 927)P value
Patient characteristics
Age at transplant57 (33-74)57 (16-77)0.91
Gender (male)21 (54%)653 (70%)0.033
BMI25.7 (18.0-38.0)28.4 (16.4-61.1)0.091
Diagnosis
Hepatitis C18 (46%)364 (41%)0.41
ETOH10 (26%)138 (15%)0.11
Cryptogenic cirrhosis8 (21%)147 (16%)0.5
NASH0 (0%)76 (8%)0.066
PSC0 (0%)61 (7%)0.17
Other3 (8%)141 (15%)0.25
MELD at transplant37 (24-50)20 (6-45) < 0.001
Previous operation13 (34%)402 (47%)0.13
Operative characteristics
Operative time (min)230 (129-596)231 (100-745)0.69
Blood transfusion (mL)3850 (1400-15 400)2800 (0-44 100)0.002
Cold ischemia time (h)6.3 (3.4-10.4)6.3 (2.0-14.0)0.71
Warm ischemia time (min)30 (18-84)31 (10-141)0.59
Donor characteristics
Age42 (8-78)48 (7-88)0.016
Gender (male)17 (46%)551 (59%)0.12
Recipient-donor gender incompatibility15 (41%)348 (38%)0.73
Donation after cardiac death6 (16%)146 (16%)1.00
Donor risk index1.53 (0.88-2.60)1.66 (0.85-4.30)0.085
Table 2 Additional information for intensive care unit patients only
VariableSummary(n = 39)
Patient characteristics
Vasopressors14 (36%)
Vasopressin12 (31%)
Dose (units/min)0.04 (0.01-0.04)
Norepinephrine8 (21%)
Dose (mcg/kg per min)0.07 (0.01-0.18)
Vasopressin and norepinephrine6 (15%)
Length of time from hospital admission to ICU admission (d)3 (1-32)
Length of time from ICU admission to liver transplant (d)12 (1-65)
MELD at ICU admission32 (15-52)
MELD at transplant37 (24-50)
Pre-transplant ambulation14 (42%)
Dialysis25 (64%)
Tracheostomy9 (23%)
Mechanical ventilation16 (41%)
Positive end-expiratory pressure (cm H20)7 (7-12)
FiO2 (%)40 (28-60)
Mean airway pressure (cm H20)12 ( 9-18)
PaO2 (mmHg)103 (60-147)
Post-operative characteristics
Post-operatively placed tracheostomy4 (10%)
Length of hospital stay42 (15-516)
Length of ICU stay27 (7-327)
Discharged status
Home19 (49%)
Rehab14 (36%)
Death6 (15%)
3-mo readmission16 (41%)
Table 3 Graft survival and patient survival in intensive care unit patients and non- intensive care unit patients
Estimate (95%CI)
Outcome/time since transplantICU patients(n = 39)Non-ICU patients(n = 927)
Graft survival
1 yr76% (62%-91%)90% (88%-92%)
2 yr72% (58%-89%)84% (82%-87%)
3 yr68% (52%-86%)81% (78%-83%)
4 yr62% (44%-83%)78% (75%-81%)
5 yr62% (41%-83%)75% (72%-78%)
Patient survival
1 yr78% (65%-93%)94% (92%-95%)
2 yr75% (61%-91%)89% (87%-91%)
3 yr70% (55%-88%)85% (83%-87%)
4 yr65% (47%-86%)82% (79%-84%)
5 yr65% (43%-86%)79% (76%-82%)
Table 4 Associations of patient and donor characteristics with graft survival (graft loss or death endpoint) and patient survival (death endpoint) in intensive care unit patients
Association with graft survival (graft loss or death endpoint)Association with patient survival (death endpoint)
VariableRelative risk (95%CI)P valueRelative risk (95%CI)P value
Patient characteristics
Age at transplant (10 yr increase)0.98 (0.49-1.99)0.961.00 (0.47-2.11)0.99
Gender (male)1.33 (0.42-4.19)0.631.10 (0.34-3.61)0.88
BMI (10 unit increase)0.63 (0.24-1.66)0.350.57 (0.20-1.59)0.28
Diagnosis
Hepatitis C0.99 (0.32-3.08)0.990.79 (0.24-2.59)0.69
ETOH0.57 (0.12-2.59)0.460.65 (0.14-3.02)0.58
Cryptogenic cirrhosis3.29 (0.97-11.15)0.0563.97 (1.14-13.87)0.031
MELD at transplant (5 unit increase)0.99 (0.63-1.57)0.971.09 (0.68-1.75)0.72
MELD at ICU admission (5 unit increase)0.85 (0.56-1.30)0.471.03 (0.66-1.61)0.89
Previous operation1.07 (0.31-3.67)0.910.76 (0.20-2.95)0.69
Vasopressors1.06 (0.32-3.51)0.931.24 (0.36-4.23)0.74
Vasopressin0.78 (0.23-2.59)0.680.91 (0.27-3.11)0.88
Norepinephrine0.29 (0.04-2.22)0.230.32 (0.04-2.51)0.28
Vasopressin and norepinephrine0.44 (0.06-3.44)0.440.50 (0.06-3.90)0.51
Length of time from hospital admission to ICU admission (doubling)0.91 (0.64-1.28)0.570.88 (0.61-1.27)0.49
Ambulation1.30 (0.36-4.72)0.691.30 (0.36-4.72)0.69
Dialysis1.70 (0.46-6.32)0.431.46 (0.38-5.54)0.58
Tracheostomy1.00 (0.27-3.71)1.000.61 (0.13-2.83)0.53
Mechanical ventilation0.91 (0.29-2.88)0.880.69 (0.20-2.37)0.56
Donor characteristics
Age (10 yr increase)0.97 (0.67-1.41)0.880.91 (0.61-1.36)0.65
Gender (male)0.74 (0.21-2.63)0.640.52 (0.13-2.09)0.36
Recipient-donor gender incompatibility1.33 (0.36-4.91)0.671.76 (0.45-6.87)0.41
Donation after cardiac death3.38 (0.95-12.05)0.0604.19 (1.12-15.70)0.033
Donor risk index (1 unit increase)2.15 (0.54-8.62)0.281.61 (0.36-7.15)0.53