Teh‐Ia Huo, Jaw‐Ching Wu, Han‐Chieh Lin, Fa‐Yauh Lee, Ming‐Chih Hou, Yi‐Hsiang Huang, Pui‐Ching Lee, Full‐Young Chang, Shou‐Dong Lee – 19 November 2004 – The model for end‐stage liver disease (MELD) has been a prevailing system to prioritize cirrhotic patients awaiting liver transplantation. An “exceptional” MELD score of 20 and 24 points is assigned for stage T1 and T2 patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), respectively. However, this strategy is based on scarce data and the optimal score for these patients remains uncertain.

Georges‐Philippe Pageaux, Yvon Calmus, Olivier Boillot, Christian Ducerf, Claire Vanlemmens, Karim Boudjema, Didier Samuel, and the French CHI‐F‐01 Study Group – 19 November 2004 – Some clinical studies in liver transplantation have recently reported safety advantages and similar acute rejection rates with early steroid withdrawal. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of an immunosuppressive regimen with steroid withdrawal at day 14. A multicenter, 1‐year, comparative, double blind, placebo‐controlled study was performed.

Edward Gane, Rachael Bergman, David Hutchinson – 19 November 2004 – Between 10 and 20% of adult liver transplants are performed for end‐stage alcoholic liver disease. Severe extrahepatic end‐organ damage from alcoholism (cardiomyopathy, pancreatitis, central nervous system injury, and neuropathy) is widely regarded as an absolute contraindication to liver transplantation, despite a lack of data on the effect of transplantation on these complications. We describe such a patient who presented with decompensated alcoholic liver disease and moderately severe peripheral neuropathy.

Robert M. Merion – 19 November 2004

George Therapondos, Andrew D. Flapan, John N. Plevris, Peter C. Hayes – 19 November 2004 – This article briefly discusses the cardiac status of liver transplant recipients and their preoperative cardiac evaluation. It describes in detail perioperative and early and late postoperative complications as well as the cardiac problems associated with immunosuppression. The preoperative cardiovascular status of patients is important in determining how they cope with the stresses imposed by liver transplantation.

Christian Steiner, Sambit Sen, Jan Stange, Roger Williams, Rajiv Jalan – 19 November 2004 – The binding/transporting functions of albumin provide the rationale for using albumin dialysis (e.g., molecular adsorbents recirculating system [MARS]) in liver failure. This study investigates these properties in vitro, validating the findings in vivo. In vitro bromosulphthalein (BSP) and bilirubin‐spiked plasma were dialyzed against albumin and sampled.

Manish G. Amin, Michael P. Wolf, John A. TenBrook, Richard B. Freeman, Steve J. Cheng, Daniel S. Pratt, John B. Wong – 19 November 2004 – Expanded criteria donor (ECD) liver grafts have a higher likelihood of primary graft failure (PGF) compared with standard criteria donor (SCD) grafts. Given a choice between an available ECD graft versus waiting for an SCD graft that may not always become available, what should liver transplant candidates do? The study's aim was to estimate 1‐year survival comparing immediate ECD liver grafting with waiting for an SCD organ.

James R. Burton, Hugo R. Rosen – 19 November 2004

Norbert Hubert Gruener, Maria‐Christina Jung, Axel Ulsenheimer, Joern Tilman Gerlach, Reinhart Zachoval, Helmut Michael Diepolder, Gustavo Baretton, Rolf Schauer, Gerd Rudolf Pape, Carl Albrecht Schirren – 19 November 2004 – Virus‐specific CD8+ T cells play a major role in antiviral immune defenses; their significance in the transplant setting, however, is unclear.

Mitsugi Shimoda, Rafik M. Ghobrial, Ian C. Carmody, Dean M. Anselmo, Douglas G. Farmer, Hasan Yersiz, Pauline Chen, Sherfield Dawson, Francisco Durazo, Steve Han, Leonard I. Goldstein, Sammy Saab, Jonathan Hiatt, Ronald W. Busuttil – 19 November 2004 – The efficacy of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is not well defined. This study examines the variables that may determine the outcome of OLT for HCC in HCV patients. From 1990 to 1999, 463 OLTs were performed for HCV cirrhosis.