Long-Term Management of the Adult Liver Transplant
AASLD develops evidence-based practice guidelines and practice guidances which are updated regularly by a committee of hepatology experts and include recommendations of preferred approaches to the diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive aspects of care.
Practice Guideline
Long-Term Management of the Successful Adult Liver Transplant [updated January 2013]
Liver Transplantation (LT) is the treatment of choice for patients with decompensated cirrhosis, acute liver failure, small hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs), or acute liver failure. The success of LT has meant that there is a growing cohort of LT recipients throughout the world. From 1985 through 2011, approximately 100,000 persons in the United States underwent LT. On December 30, 2011, there were 30,000 LT recipients who were alive and had survived at least 5 years, and there were more than 16,000 recipients with 10 or more years’ survival. These long-term survivors are at risk of early death and increased morbidity. The purpose of this guideline is to assist in the management of adult recipients of LT, identify the barriers to maintaining their health, and make recommendations on the ways to best prevent or ameliorate these barriers. This guideline focuses on management beyond the first 90 days after transplantation.