The April issue of Liver Transplantation, the official Journal of ILTS and the AASLD, is out now.
Free access for ILTS members!
Article selections by Nicholas Syn, Alessandra Mazzola, Beth Wilson, Jiang Liu, Carmen Vinaixa, Madhukar Patel, and Abdul Hakeem.

SURGERY

Annals of Surgery
Impact of Back-to-Base Normothermic Machine Perfusion on Complications and Costs: A Multi-Center, Real-World Risk-Matched Analysis
Background: End-ischemic NMP is often used to aid logistics, yet its’ impact on outcomes after LT remains unclear, as does its’ true impact on costs associated with transplantation. More

Liver Transplantation
Recipient hepatectomy technique may affect oncological outcomes of Liver Transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma
Background: To date, caval sparing (CS) and total caval replacement (TCR) for recipient hepatectomy in liver transplantation (LT) have been compared only in terms of surgical morbidity. Nonetheless, CS technique is inherently associated with an increased manipulation of the native liver and later exclusion of the venous outflow, which may increase the risk of intraoperative shedding of tumor cells when LT is performed for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). More

Liver Transplantation
Bariatric surgery post-Liver Transplantation: A Belgian nationwide study
Background: Weight gain poses a rising concern post-liver transplantation (LT), and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) might impair graft health. The timing is crucial when considering bariatric surgery (BS) in a population with liver disease or transplantation. BS can be considered for post-LT weight gain, although the evidence is limited and the long-term outcome still uncertain. More

HEPATOLOGY

Hepatology
Effects of empagliflozin on liver fat in metabolic-dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease patients without diabetes mellitus: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
Background and Aims: We investigated whether empagliflozin reduces hepatic steatosis in metabolic-dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) patients without diabetes mellitus (DM). More

Transplantation
Impact of Preformed Donor-specific Antibodies in Comparison to ABO Incompatibility in Living Donor Liver Transplantation: A Propensity Score–Matched Analysis 
Background: Immunological factors play a pivotal role in the outcomes of solid organ transplantation. We aimed to elucidate the effects of donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) and ABO compatibility on living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) outcomes. More

Journal of Hepatology
Evaluation of a delayed liver transplantation strategy for patients with HCC receiving bridging therapy: the DELTA-HCC study 
Introduction: To maximize utility and prevent premature liver transplantation (LT), a delayed LT strategy (DS) was adopted in France in 2015 in patients listed for any single HCC treated with resection or thermal-ablation during waiting phase, postponing LT until recurrence. The purpose of this study was to evaluate DS to make sure that it did not hamper pre and post-LT outcomes in DS patients. More

ANESTHESIA AND CRITICAL CARE

International Journal of Cardiology
Coronary artery calcium assessment on non-gated chest CT to optimize pre-operative cardiac screening in liver transplantation
Background: Guidelines recommend standard pre-operative cardiac screening in all liver transplantation (LT) recipients, despite the relatively low prevalence of obstructive coronary artery disease. Most LT recipients often have non-gated computed tomography (CT) performed of the chest and abdomen. This study evaluated the ability of coronary artery calcification (CAC) assessment on consecutively available scans, to identify a selection of low-risk patients, in whom further cardiac imaging can be safely withheld. More.

Transplant Infectious Disease
Low rate of surgical site infections after liver transplantation: A 5-year retrospective cohort study
Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) after liver transplant (LT) is common, but no studies have been conducted in Australia. The purpose of this study was to determine the proportion of patients who developed an SSI post-LT in Australia’s largest LT unit. More.

Pediatric Transplantation
Effect of dexmedetomidine on the incidence of postoperative acute kidney injury in living donor liver transplantation recipients: A randomized controlled trial
Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the most common complications after living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) that has great impact on recipient and graft outcomes. Dexmedetomidine is reported to decrease the incidence of AKI. In the current study, we investigated whether intraoperative dexmedetomidine infusion would reduce the AKI following LDLT. More.