Jeong M. Park, Kathleen D. Lake, Juan D. Arenas, Robert J. Fontana – 28 December 2005 – The efficacy and safety of valganciclovir (VGCV) for cytomegalovirus (CMV) prophylaxis in liver transplant recipients has not been established. We retrospectively compared the efficacy and safety of low‐dose oral VGCV (450 mg once daily for 90 days) and standard oral ganciclovir (1 g three times a day for 90 days, GCV) in preventing CMV disease in 109 adult liver transplant recipients who survived at least 1 month between January 2001 and April 2003 (49 GCV and 60 VGCV).

Stephen C. Strom, Hongbo Cai, Ewa Ellis, Keitaro Mitamura, Toshio Miki – 28 December 2005

Il‐Deok Kim, Takashi Azuma, Akio Ido, Akihiro Moriuchi, Masatsugu Numata, Satoshi Teramukai, Jun Okamoto, Sadami Tsutsumi, Koichi Tanaka, Hirohito Tsubouchi – 28 December 2005 – The accurate calculation of hepatic volume by computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) is complicated by the need for breath holding and the injection of contrast media.

Roberto J. Firpi, Haizhen Zhu, Giuseppe Morelli, Manal F. Abdelmalek, Consuelo Soldevila‐Pico, Victor I. Machicao, Roniel Cabrera, Alan I. Reed, Chen Liu, David R. Nelson – 28 December 2005 – Cyclosporine is an immunosuppressive agent widely used in the management of liver transplant recipients. Cyclosporine has been shown to have antiviral activities against HIV, herpes simplex, and vaccinia viruses.

Mutsumi Okazaki, Hirotaka Asato, Akihiko Takushima, Takashi Nakatsuka, Shunji Sarukawa, Keita Inoue, Kiyonori Harii, Yasuhiko Sugawara, Masatoshi Makuuchi – 28 December 2005 – In living‐donor liver transplantation (LDLT), reconstruction of the hepatic artery is challenging because the recipient artery is located deep in the abdominal cavity and the operating field is limited. Also, the hepatic artery of the graft is short and the recipient artery is occasionally damaged. To overcome these difficulties, we developed a double‐needle microsuture technique for artery reconstruction.

Luc Massicotte, Serge Lenis, Lynda Thibeault, Marie‐Pascale Sassine, Robert F. Seal, André Roy – 28 December 2005 – Correction of coagulation defects with plasma transfusion did not decrease the need for intraoperative red blood cells (RBC) transfusions during liver transplantations. On the contrary, it led to a hypervolemic state that resulted in an increase of shed blood. As well, plasma transfusion has been associated with a decreased one‐year survival rate.

Richard B. Freeman – 28 December 2005

Rolland C. Dickson, Norah A. Terrault, Michael Ishitani, K. Rajender Reddy, Patricia Sheiner, Velimir Luketic, Consuelo Soldevila‐Pico, Michael Fried, Donald Jensen, Robert S. Brown, Gary Horwith, Richard Brundage, Anna Lok – 28 December 2005 – Lamivudine combined with Hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIg) prevents post liver transplant (LT) HBV recurrence. The study was designed to assess the impact of lamivudine on hepatitis B antibody (anti‐HBs) and dosage requirements of intravenous 5% HBIg (Nabi‐HB®) in the first 36 weeks post LT.

James Perkins – 28 December 2005

Shimon Kusne, Janis E. Blair – 28 December 2005 – Viral and fungal infections in liver transplant recipients are important to recognize and treat early because of their association with substantial morbidity and mortality. Some viruses, such as cytomegalovirus and human herpesvirus 6, have immunomodulatory properties and can facilitate other infections, including fungal infections.