Vanessa M. Shami, Stephen H. Caldwell, Elizabeth E. Hespenheide, Kristen O. Arseneau, Stephen J. Bickston, B. Gail Macik – 30 December 2003 – Severe coagulopathy in fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) is difficult to correct by conventional means. Recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) is an antihemophilic factor that has shown promise in treating coagulopathy in liver disease. Our aim is to review our experience with rFVIIa in treating the coagulopathy of FHF and compare these results with those of conventional therapy.

Satheesh Nair, James Eason, George Loss – 30 December 2003 – Sirolimus, being nonnephrotoxic, is a viable alternative in patients who develop renal insufficiency caused by calcineurin inhibitors (CIs). The aim of this study is to determine whether there is improvement in renal function in liver transplant recipients after switching to sirolimus‐based immunosuppression. In this retrospective review, patients who were more than 3 years posttransplantation were selected.

Deepak V. Gopal, Hugo R. Rosen – 30 December 2003 – Progressive liver allograft injury related to hepatitis C virus (HCV) recurrence occurs in 20% to 30% of liver transplant recipients within the first 5 years. In particular, the subset of patients who develop the severe cholestatic variant has an extremely high mortality. We report our center's experience with 7 cholestatic patients who were treated with interferon alfa‐2b (3 million IU three times per week initially) in combination with ribavirin.

Gary L. Davis, James E. Albright, Suzanne F. Cook, Daniel M. Rosenberg – 30 December 2003 – Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is common and often results in slowly progressive liver disease. Although acute hepatitis C is now uncommon, most patients with acute infection have developed chronic hepatitis, and, therefore, the pool of infected patients is large. We used a modification of a previously described natural history model for HCV infection to project the number of cases of HCV infection, cirrhosis, and liver failure over the next 40 years.

J. Wallis Marsh, Igor Dvorchik – 30 December 2003 – Of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 70% to 90% present with cirrhosis. Accordingly, liver transplantation ∥LT), not liver resection, currently remains the only possibility of cure for these patients. Because there is a severe shortage of liver organ donors, not all patients in need can be offered LT. Therefore, transplant listing criteria simultaneously must determine the greatest number of suitable candidates for transplantation while rejecting the smallest number of those who could benefit from LT.

Umberto Baccarani, Andrea Sanna, Alessio Cariani, Mauricio Sainz‐Barriga, Gian Luigi Adani, Anna Maria Zambito, Giuseppe Piccolo, Andrea Risaliti, Alessandro Nanni‐Costa, Lorenza Ridolfi, Mario Scalamogna, Fabrizio Bresadola, Annibale Donini – 30 December 2003 – The offer of liver transplantation to many patients affected by liver failure is limited by organ shortage.

Carlos O. Esquivel – 30 December 2003

Francis Y. Yao, Nathan M. Bass, Bev Nikolai, Raphael Merriman, Timothy J. Davern, Robert Kerlan, Nancy L. Ascher, John P. Roberts – 30 December 2003 – Since our interim report of the intention‐to‐treat outcome of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we have performed a follow‐up analysis of an expanded cohort of 70 patients to further assess whether the observed pattern and predictors of dropout are consistent with the rationale behind current HCC‐adjusted Model for End Stage Liver Disease (MELD) organ allocation scheme.

Hasan Yersiz, John F. Renz, Garrett M. Hisatake, Sherylin Gordon, Bob H. Saggi, Nicholas J. Feduska, Ronald W. Busuttil, Douglas G. Farmer – 30 December 2003 – Improved outcomes in multivisceral and isolated intestinal transplantation have generated increased demand for these procedures. Enhanced recognition of potential multivisceral/intestinal donors and widespread application of advanced organ procurement techniques is necessary in the current climate of organ scarcity.

Ashokkumar B. Jain, Raman Venkataramanan, Bijan Eghtesad, Amadeo Marcos, Margaret Ragni, Ron Shapiro, Ann B. Rafail, John J. Fung – 30 December 2003 – With the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), HIV positivity is no longer a contraindication for liver transplantation. Some of the antiretroviral agents, particularly protease inhibitors (e.g., ritonavir, indinavir, and nelfinavir) have been described as potent inhibitors of the metabolism of certain immunosuppressive drugs.