Anna S.F. Lok, Brian J. McMahon – 27 February 2004

Stephen H. Caldwell, Charissa Chang, B. Gail Macik – 27 February 2004 – The management of coagulopathy in patients with acute and chronic liver disease has undergone little change in many years despite advances in our understanding of the pathogenesis of this problem. In general, deficiency of clotting factors as a result of poor hepatic synthetic function accounts for most of the coagulopathy.

Anna Serafín, Joan Roselló‐Catafau, Neus Prats, Emilio Gelpí, Joan Rodés, Carmen Peralta – 27 February 2004 – The present study evaluates the effect of ischemic preconditioning on interleukin‐1 (IL‐1) and interleukin‐10 (IL‐10) generation following hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) in normal and steatotic livers as well as the role of nitric oxide (NO) in this process. Increased IL‐1β and IL‐10 levels were observed in normal livers after I/R. Steatotic livers showed higher IL‐1β levels than normal livers, and IL‐10 at control levels.

Edmond Schmied, Jean‐François Dufour, Sylvie Euvrard – 26 February 2004 – The skin, easily accessible for medical examination, is affected in many ways by liver transplantation. Mucocutaneous manifestations of advanced liver disease and dermatologic conditions associated with specific hepatic diagnoses generally improve after liver transplantation. Vasculitic lesions due to cryoglobulinemia associated with hepatitis C, and photosensitivity due to porphyria are occasional exceptions. Dermatologic diseases complicating the posttransplantation course can be challenging.

Mandana Khalili, Jessica Watson Lim, Nathan Bass, Nancy L. Ascher, John P. Roberts, Norah A. Terrault – 26 February 2004 – Epidemiological studies suggest diabetes mellitus (DM) may be an extrahepatic manifestation of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Since diabetes and HCV are common in liver transplant recipients, we sought to examine the unique contribution of HCV infection to risk of de novo diabetes posttransplantation. Using a cohort of 555 liver transplant recipients (median age 49 years, 54% males, 82% Caucasian) without preexisting diabetes from 3 U.S.

Maria Rita Montenegro Isern, Paulo Celso Bosco Massarollo, Eliane Maria de Carvalho, Carlos Eduardo Sandoli Baía, Jorge Kavakama, Poliana de Andrade Lima, Sérgio Mies – 26 February 2004 – During the anhepatic phase of conventional liver transplantation (LT), the inferior vena cava (IVC) is cross‐clamped and venovenous bypass (VVB) is usually indicated for diversion of IVC and portal blood flow. VVB can theoretically lead to pulmonary complications due to the contact of the blood with the surfaces of the circuit. In the piggyback method, preservation of the IVC avoids VVB.

Scott K. Epstein, Richard B. Freeman, Ahmad Khayat, John N. Unterborn, Daniel S. Pratt, Marshall M. Kaplan – 26 February 2004 – The shortage of donor organs highlights the need to better identify patients most likely to benefit from hepatic transplantation. Reduced aerobic capacity (decreased peak oxygen consumption [V̇O2] during symptom‐limited cardiopulmonary exercise testing) is frequently present in cirrhosis. Peak V̇O2 during cardiopulmonary exercise testing may predict short‐term outcome after hepatic transplantation.

Roman Schumann, Luis Zabala, Michael Angelis, Iwona Bonney, Hocine Tighiouart, Daniel B. Carr – 26 February 2004 – Living liver donors for adult liver transplant recipients undergo extensive liver resection. Partial donor hepatectomies may alter postoperative drug metabolism and hemostasis; thus, the risks and the benefits of pain management for this unique patient population may need to be reassessed. The safety and efficacy of combined epidural analgesia and field infiltration in our initial living liver donor group are presented.

Robert A. Fisher – 26 February 2004

Henry Chiu, Gregory Wells, Henry Carag, Erica Canova, Roberto J. Firpi – 26 February 2004