Liver transplant in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis: A retrospective cohort from Northeastern Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) manifests within a broad ethnic and racial spectrum, reflecting different levels of access to health care.

AIM: To evaluate the clinical profile, complications and survival rates of patients with PSC undergoing liver transplantation (LTx) at a Brazilian reference center.

METHODS: All patients diagnosed with PSC before or after LTx were included. The medical records were reviewed for demographic and clinical variables, including outcomes and survival. The level of statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.

RESULTS: Our cohort represented 1.6% ( n = 34) of the 2113 patients receiving liver grafts at our service over the past two decades. Most were male ( n = 19; 56%). The average age (40 ± 14 years) was similar for men and women ( P = 0.347). The mean follow-up time from diagnosis to LTx was 68 mo. Most patients had the classic form of PSC. Three women had PSC/autoimmune hepatitis overlap syndrome, and one patient had small-duct PSC. Alkaline phosphatase levels at diagnosis and pre-LTx model for end-stage liver disease. scores were significantly higher in males. Inflammatory bowel research (IBD) was investigated by colonoscopy in 26/34 (76%) and was present in most cases (18/26; 69%). IBD was less common in women than in men (44.4% vs. 55.6%) ( P = 0.692). Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) was diagnosed in 2/34 (5.9%) patients by histopathology of the explant (survival: 3 years 6 mo, and 4 years 11 mo). Two patients had complications requiring a second LTx (one after 7 d due to hepatic artery thrombosis and one after 17 d due to primary graft dysfunction). Five patients (14.7%) developed biliary stricture. The overall median post-LTx survival was 66 mo. Most deaths occurred in the first year (infection n = 2, primary liver graft dysfunction n = 3, unknown cause n = 1). The 1-year and 5-year survival rates of this cohort were 82.3% and 70.6%, respectively, matching the mean overall survival rates of LTx patients at our center (87.1% and 69.43%, respectively) ( P = 0.83).

CONCLUSION: Survival after 1 and 5 years was similar to that of other LTx indications. The observed CCA survival rate suggests CCA may be an indication for LTx in selected cases.