This month’s key articles were selected by Ryan Chadha, David Victor, and Young In Yoon.

HEPATOLOGY

Digestive Diseases and Sciences
Impact of Cirrhotic Cardiomyopathy Diagnosed According to Different Criteria on Patients with Cirrhosis Awaiting Liver Transplantation: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Background: Recently, the Cirrhotic Cardiomyopathy Consortium (Consortium) proposed criteria to replace the World Congress of Gastroenterology (WGO) criteria for cirrhotic cardiomyopathy (CCM) using contemporary echocardiography parameters. We assessed the impact of substituting WGO by Consortium criteria on the frequency of diagnosis and clinical outcomes in patients with cirrhosis awaiting liver transplantation (LT). Read more

Liver Transplantation
Long-Term Outcomes of Crossmatch Positive Simultaneous Liver Kidney Transplants in the United States
Background: The long-term outcomes of positive crossmatch (+XM) simultaneous liver-kidney (SLK) transplants are conflicting. We examined the association between crossmatch status and SLK outcomes in recipients discharged on tacrolimus and mycophenolate with or without steroids. Read more

European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Novel predictors for liver transplantation or death in drug-induced acute liver
Objective: Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a leading cause of acute liver failure (ALF). Predictors for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) or death in drug-induced ALF (DI-ALF) are scarce. Read more

SURGERY

Annals of Surgery
Auxiliary Liver Transplantation for Cirrhosis: From APOLT to RAPID A Scoping Review
Objective: To survey the available literature regarding the use of auxiliary liver transplantation (ALT) in the setting of cirrhosis. Read more

American Journal of Transplantation
Transplantation of bioengineered liver capable of extended function in a preclinical liver failure model
Unlimited organ availability would represent a paradigm shift in transplantation. Long-term in vivo engraftment and function of scaled-up bioengineered liver grafts have not been previously reported. In this study, we describe a human-scale transplantable liver graft engineered on a porcine liver-derived scaffold. Read more

Liver Transplantation
Complete transition from open surgery to laparoscopy: 8-year experience with more than 500 laparoscopic living donor hepatectomies
Background: This study was designed to review laparoscopic living donor liver transplantations at a single center that achieved complete transition from open surgery to laparoscopy. Read more

ANESTHESIOLOGY AND CRITICAL CARE

Anesthesia and Analgesia
Is Obesity Associated With Better Liver Transplant Outcomes? A Retrospective Study of Hospital Length of Stay and Mortality Following Liver Transplantation
BACKGROUND: The rise in obesity in the United States, along with improvements in antiviral therapies, has led to an increase in the number of obese patients receiving liver transplants. Currently, obesity is a relative contraindication for liver transplant, although exact body mass index (BMI) limits continue to be debated. Studies conflict regarding outcomes in obese patients, while some argue that BMI should not be used as an exclusion criterion at all. Therefore, this retrospective study—utilizing a large national database—seeks to elucidate the association between recipient BMI and hospital length of stay and mortality following liver transplant. Read more

International Journal of Surgery
Effect of post-operative goal-directed fluid therapy (GDFT) on organ function after orthotopic liver transplantation: Secondary outcome analysis of the COLT randomised control trial
Background: Goal-directed fluid therapy (GDFT) has been shown to reduce the complications following a variety of major surgical procedures, possibly mediated by improved organ perfusion and function. We have shown that it is feasible to randomise patients to GDFT or standard fluid management following liver transplant in the cardiac-output optimisation following liver transplantation (COLT) trial. The current study compares end organ function in patients from the COLT trial who received GDFT in comparison to those receiving standard care (SC) following liver transplant. Read more

Liver Transplantation
Intraoperative Risk Factors of Acute Kidney Injury Following Liver Transplantation
Background and Aims: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the most common complications of liver transplantation (LT). We aimed to examine the impact of intraoperative management on risk for AKI following liver transplantation. Read more