Liver transplantation beneficial in critically ill children

Editor's Note

Advances in critical care have made it possible for critically ill children to undergo liver transplantation with the same survival benefits as children who are stable before surgery, this study finds.

At Texas Children’s Hospital, 65 of 354 patients who had liver transplantation between 2002 and 2015 were ill enough to be admitted to the ICU at the time of surgery.

Survival at 1 year was 92% for the entire group and 87% for the ICU patients.

Liver transplantation in a critically ill child is an appropriate use of a scarce donor organ in a child who would otherwise die of terminal liver disease, the authors say.

Use of advanced critical care in children and infants with liver failure is justified because orthotopic liver transplant can be performed on the sickest children to achieve acceptable outcomes. It is an appropriate use of scarce donor allograft in a child who would otherwise succumb to terminal liver disease.