Group items tagged

Dual-graft (DG) adult living donor liver transplantation (ALDLT) with ABO-incompatible (ABOi) and ABO-compatible (ABOc) graft combination is associated with high rates of graft survival, with no significant difference for ABOi and ABOc grafts, according to research published online July 31 in the American Journal of Transplantation. Jae Hyun Kwon, M.D., from the University of Ulsan College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, and colleagues conducted a retrospective review of medical records of patients who underwent ABOi DG ALDLT between 2008 and 2014. The authors also assessed the graft regeneration rate using computed tomography volumetric analysis. During a mean follow-up of 57.0 ± 22.4 months, the researchers found that the one-, three-, and five-year patient survival rate was 96.4 percent. The rate of graft survival at one-, three-, and five-years was 96.4, 94.2, and 92.0 percent, respectively; ABOc and ABOi grafts did not differ significantly (P = 0.145). No significant differences were seen between ABOc and ABOi grafts in the biliary complication rate (P = 0.195). There was no significant difference in regeneration rates for ABOi and ABOc grafts. "DG ALDLT with ABOi and ABOc graft combination seems to be a feasible option for expanding the donor pool without additional donor risks," the authors write.

For patients with stage 4 or 5 chronic kidney disease and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, 12 weeks of treatment with glecaprevir and pibrentasvir results in a high rate of sustained virologic response, according to a study published online Oct. 11 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Edward Gane, M.D., from Auckland City Hospital in New Zealand, and colleagues conducted a multicenter trial to examine the efficacy and safety of combination treatment with the NS3/4A protease inhibitor glecaprevir and the NS5A inhibitor pibrentasvir for 12 weeks in adults with HCV infection and compensated liver disease with severe renal impairment, dependence on dialysis, or both. Participants had stage 4 or 5 chronic kidney disease. One hundred four patients were enrolled in the trial. The researchers found that the sustained virologic response rate was 98 percent. During treatment, none of the patients had virologic failure, and none had a virologic relapse after the end of treatment. Pruritus, fatigue, and nausea were reported in at least 10 percent of the patients. Twenty-four percent of the patients reported serious adverse events. Because of adverse events, four patients discontinued the trial treatment prematurely; three of these had sustained virologic response