Graham Stewart | PubMed Health

PubMed2003

Clinical experience gained from the use of 120 steatotic donor livers for orthotopic liver transplantation.

Steatosis of the donor liver is known to impact on patient and allograft outcome after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of increasing grades of cadaveric donor liver steatosis on recipient outcome. Between January, 1986 and December, 2000, 120 OLTs were performed with 72 mild, 25 moderate, and 23 severe steatotic donor livers. Donors of steatotic livers were more likely to be older (P =.001) and have died of intracerebral haemorrhage than donors of nonsteatotic livers. Initial poor graft function (IPF) was more common in donor livers with either moderate or severe steatosis than in donor livers with mild steatosis (P =.03). Primary graft nonfunction (PNF) occurred in only 1 donor liver with severe steatosis. PGE1 (PGE1) usage was higher in recipients of donor livers with moderate or severe steatosis versus donor livers with mild steatosis (P =.001). Allograft loss was greater at 1 year both in the moderate and severe (P =.03) steatotic liver groups. Patient survival at 3 months and overall allograft survival both were impacted negatively by increasing grades of donor liver steatosis (P =.02, P =.03). Three-month allograft survival was reduced in the steatotic donor livers if the donor was 50+ years old (P =.033). Recipient status at OLT (P =.001) and donor steatosis (P =.046) impacted on 30 day allograft survival (multivariate analysis). In conclusion, increasing grades of donor liver steatosis were associated with worse IPF and increased PGE1 usage. There was a negative impact of steatosis on both recipient and early allograft survival.

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PubMed2002

Does renal dysfunction predict mortality after acute stroke? A 7-year follow-up study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate renal function as a long-term predictor of mortality in patients hospitalized for acute stroke. METHODS: This was a cohort study done in a Scottish tertiary teaching hospital. Participants included 2042 (993 male) unselected consecutive stroke patients (mean age, 73 years) admitted to hospital within 48 hours of stroke between 1988 and 1994. Follow-up was up to 7 years. Main outcome measure was all-cause mortality. RESULTS: The total number of deaths at the end of follow-up was 1026. Most subjects (1512) had creatinine <124 micromol/L. The mean calculated creatinine clearance was 54.8 mL/min (SD, 23 mL/min). Renal function indexes were analyzed by quartiles with Cox proportional-hazards model. Stroke survivors had higher calculated creatinine clearance and lower serum creatinine, urea, and ratios of urea to creatinine. Calculated creatinine clearance > or =51.27 mL/min significantly predicted better long-term survival in these stroke patients even after adjustment for confounders (age, neurological score, ischemic heart disease, hypertension, smoking, and diuretic use). Similarly, creatinine > or =119 micromol/L "relative risk (RR), 1.59; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.32 to 1.92", urea 6.8 to 8.9 mmol/L (RR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.09 to 1.65) or > or =9 mmol/L (RR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.42 to 2.13), and ratio of urea to creatinine > or =0.08573 mmol/micromol (RR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.50) remained significant predictors of mortality after adjustment for confounders. CONCLUSIONS: After acute stroke, patients with reduced admission calculated creatinine clearance, raised serum creatinine and urea concentrations (even within conventional reference intervals), and raised ratio of urea to creatinine had a higher mortality risk. This finding may be used to stratify risk and target interventions, eg, the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors.

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