Current status of liver transplantation in Europe

Liver transplantation (LT) in Europe became an established life-saving treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma, and acute liver conditions with life-threatening hepatic dysfunction. Although there are substantial disparities in donation and transplant rates among European countries, LT can be offered to almost every European citizen today. In order to maximize the LT benefit beyond national levels, many countries cooperate within transnational organizations including Eurotransplant, Scandiatransplant, and Southern Alliance for Transplantation. In the majority of European countries, liver allocation is based on the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD). Similar to North America, the ongoing extinction of hepatitis C and increase of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis are also a hallmark of change in LT indications in Europe. Apart from Turkey, the organ pool for LT in European countries is mainly based on organs from donors after brain death, although some countries retrieve a substantial proportion of organs from donors after circulatory death. According to the 2018 report of the European Liver Transplant Registry, 146,762 LT have been performed in Europe until 2016. In the most recent period, LT in Europe achieved respectable 1- and 5-year overall survival rates of 86% and 74%

Covid-19 in Liver Transplant Recipients: A National Cohort

[No Abstract Available

The COVID-19 pandemic: Clinical practice advice for gastroenterologists, hepatologists, and liver transplant specialists

DAYANGAC, MURAT/0000-0002-1240-7233WOS: 000541436400001PubMed: 32519953Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a novel acute infectious disease that has rapidly reached staggering pandemic proportions. This review addresses gastroenterologists, hepatologists, liver transplant (LT) specialists, and health-care professionals working in the field of liver diseases and liver transplantation. It has been written based on a limited number of publications, recommendations of national and international liver and organ transplantation societies, and experiences of patients with COVID-19 around the world. the purpose of this review is to provide information addressing questions and concerns about COVID-19, to reveal the effects of the novel disease on patients with chronic liver disease and LT recipients, and to share information about ways in which this pandemic will affect clinical practices. We, the Turkish Association for the Study of the Liver (TASL), would like to remind you that this text is actually not a practical guide. It is imperative to act according to the standards set by health-care institutions and the Ministry of Health, Republic of Turkey

Efficacy of tenofovir in adefovir-experienced patients compared with treatment-naive patients with chronic hepatitis B

Background: Tenofovir (TDF) has similar antiviral efficacy in both treatment-naive and lamivudine-resistant chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. Data on TDF use in patients with adefovir (ADV) resistance is inconsistent. The aim of our study was to assess antiviral efficacy of TDF against nucleoside analogue-naive (NN) and ADV-resistant (ADV-R) CHB and suboptimal responders to ADV (ADV-S)

Pegylated interferon-based treatment in patients with advanced liver disease due to chronic delta hepatitis

Background/aims: The safety and efficacy of interferons in advanced delta hepatitis have not been explored. The aim of this subanalysis of a multi-center clinical trial was to compare the efficacy and safety of 48 weeks of pegylated interferon alpha-2a (180 mu g weekly) with or without adefouir (10 mg daily) in patients with chronic delta hepatitis-induced advanced liver disease and in those with non-advanced liver disease. Materials and Methods: Thirty-one patients with advanced and 27 patients with non-advanced liver disease were assessed. Patients were considered to have advanced liver disease when biopsy disclosed a fibrosis score of >= 4 according to Ishak or when imaging studies were indicative of cirrhosis. Virologic response, defined as achievement of undetectable hepatitis D virus RNA, was assessed at the end of treatment and end of 24 weeks of treatment-free follow-up. Results: Patients with advanced disease had lower hepatitis D virus RNA levels and platelet counts (p=0.014 and p=0.0015, respectively). End of treatment and end of follow-up virologic responses in patients with advanced vs. non-advanced liver disease were similar (29% vs. 19% and 32% vs 23%). Proportion of adverse events did not differ between groups except that thrombocytopenia was noted more often in the advanced liver disease group. Further, four cases of clinically important adverse events including two cases of hepatic decompensation and one case of tuberculosis reactivation occurred in the advanced liver disease group. Conclusions: Pegylated interferon is as effective in patients with advanced liver disease due to chronic delta hepatitis as in patients with non-advanced liver disease, but patients should be monitored closely for clinically important side effects