Richard B. Freeman – 21 January 2005

Pratima Sharma, Jorge Rakela – 21 January 2005

Sammy Saab, Ayman B. Ibrahim, Alexander Shpaner, Zobair M. Younossi, Cindy Lee, Francisco Durazo, Steven Han, Karl Esrason, Victor Wu, Jonathan Hiatt, Douglas G. Farmer, R. Mark Ghobrial, Curtis Holt, Hasan Yersiz, Leonard I. Goldstein, Myron J. Tong, Ronald W. Busuttil – 21 January 2005 – Previous studies have demonstrated an association between Child Turcotte‐Pugh (CTP) class and impaired quality of life. However, the relationship between the model for end‐stage liver disease (MELD) score and quality of life (QOL) has not been well studied.

Baburao Koneru, Adrian Fisher, Yan He, Kenneth M. Klein, Joan Skurnick, Dorian J. Wilson, Andrew N. de la Torre, Anand Merchant, Rakesh Arora, Arun K. Samanta – 21 January 2005 – Ischemic preconditioning (IPC) has the potential to decrease graft injury and morbidity after liver transplantation. We prospectively investigated the safety and efficacy of 5 minutes of IPC induced by hilar clamping in local deceased donor livers randomized 1 : 1 to standard (STD) recovery (N = 28) or IPC (N = 34).

Anil S. Paramesh, Ralph B. Fairchild, Theresa M. Quinn, Fred Leya, Magdalene George, David H. Van Thiel – 21 January 2005 – A 53‐year‐old male with hepatitis C cirrhosis, who had been refused liver transplantation because of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC), underwent nonsurgical septal ablation using alcohol with resolution of his ventricular outflow obstruction. This patient was able to subsequently undergo a successful deceased donor liver transplantation. This is the first reported case of alcohol induced septal ablation being performed in a cirrhotic patient with HC.

See Ching Chan, Chung Mau Lo, Chi Leung Liu, Sheung Tat Fan – 21 January 2005

Lucas McCormack, Pierre‐Alain Clavien – 21 January 2005

Guilherme Santoro‐Lopes, Érika Ferraz de Gouvêa, Rodrigo Carreira M. Monteiro, Rodrigo Castelo Branco, José Rodolfo Rocco, Márcia Halpern, Adriana Lúcia Pires Ferreira, Elaine Gama Pessoa de Araújo, Samanta T. Basto, Vinicius Gomes Silveira, Joaquim Ribeiro‐Filho – 21 January 2005 – Methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a frequent cause of infection after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Colonization with MRSA is associated with a higher risk of infection. Previous studies have shown a high prevalence of MRSA colonization among OLT candidates.

Paolo R.O. Salvalaggio, Peter F. Whitington, Estella M. Alonso, Riccardo A. Superina – 21 January 2005 – We studied the impact of multiple bile duct anastomosis on the development of biliary complications after liver transplantation in children. A total of 101 patients received a primary liver transplant and were divided into 2 groups: those with a single bile duct (n = 77) and those with multiple bile ducts (n = 24). Mean follow‐up was 39.8 ± 20.8 months.

Arianeb Mehrabi, Markus Golling, Arash Kashfi, Tamara Boucsein, Peter Schemmer, Carsten N. Gutt, Jan Schmidt, Markus W. Büchler, Thomas W. Kraus – 21 January 2005 – Catecholamines are often administered during and after liver transplantation (LTx) to support systemic perfusion and to increase organ oxygen supply. Some vasoactive agents can compromise visceral organ perfusion.