Pretransplant Factors and Associations with Postoperative Respiratory Failure, ICU Length of Stay, and Short-Term Survival after Liver Transplantation in a High MELD Population
Table 1
Baseline demographic characteristics.
Demographic variables
Total population ()
PRF ()
ICU LOS > 3 days ()
Age at transplant (Years ± SD)
56.1 ± 8.7
55.3 ± 9.1
55.4 ± 8.9
Inpatient status immediately prior to transplant
50 (30.4%)
13 (31.7%)
14 (18.9%)
Gender (Male)
105 (64.0%)
24 (58.5%)
44 (59.6%)
BMI (kg/m2 ± SD)
28.3 ± 5.6
28.7 ± 6.3
28.4 ± 6.1
Large volume ascites
23 (14.0%)
5 (12.2%)
11 (14.9%)
Pretransplant serum albumin (g/dl)
2.3 ± 0.7
2.4 ± 0.8
2.1 ± 0.5
Pretransplant need for renal replacement therapy
65 (39.6%)
14 (34.1%)
31 (41.8%)
Pretransplant biologic MELD ± SD
31.4 ± 7.3
36.4 ± 5.8
35.8 ± 5.5
Preoperative respiratory failure
15 (9.1%)
11 (26.8%)
15 (20.3%)
Smoking history
51 (30.1%)
15 (36.6%)
21 (28.4%)
Concurrent kidney transplant
11 (6.7%)
3 (7.3%)
5 (6.7%)
Primary indication
Hepatitis C
69 (42.1%)
10 (24.3%)
20 (27.0%)
Metabolic
27 (16.5%)
8 (19.5%)
12 (16.2%)
Any with HCC
11 (6.7%)
2 (4.9%)
8 (10.8%)
Autoimmune
40 (24.4%)
14 (34.1%)
22 (29.7%)
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
19 (11.6%)
8 (19.5%)
13 (17.6%)
Echocardiography
LVEF < 50%
3 (1.8%)
2 (4.9%)
2 (2.7%)
Diastolic dysfunction
48 (29.2%)
11 (26.8%)
11 (14.9%)
Pulmonary function testing
FEV1/FVC < 80%
9 (5.5%)
2 (4.9%)
2 (2.7%)
FVC < 80%
21 (12.8%)
7 (17.1%)
7 (9.4%)
FEV1 < 80%
23 (14.0%)
9 (21.9%)
9 (12.1%)
Donor gender (male)
105 (64.0%)
26 (63.4%)
49 (66.2%)
Donor CMV positive
104 (63.4%)
24 (58.5%)
45 (60.8%)
Warm ischemic time (minutes ± SD)
32 ± 21
28 ± 15
30 ± 15
Cold ischemic time (minutes ± SD)
198 ± 69
221 ± 79
205 ± 72
Packed red blood cell transfusion > 6 units
71 (45%)
21 (51.2%)
38 (51.3%)
PRF: postoperative respiratory failure; ICU: intensive care unit; LOS: length of stay; SD: standard deviation; BMI: body mass index; MELD: Model for End Stage Liver Disease; EF: ejection fraction; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in one second; FVC: forced vital capacity; CMV: cytomegalovirus.
