When is it Time for a Transplant?

CAHN Conference February 25, 2011

Sandy Williams RN(EC), MScN, NP Nurse Practitioner / Transplant Coordinator London Health Sciences Centre

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Objectives

• Review the indications for liver transplantation

• Understand– Optimal Timing – Information needed to facilitate the assessment– Transplant Process

ConsiderLong-term outcomes & concerns

Who Needs a Liver Transplant?

• End-stage organ failure• Tumour• No other surgical or medical

option• Limited life span

• “Sick enough to warrant the risks & healthy enough to survive the surgery”

Patient’s Fears about Assessment

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Purpose of the Transplant Assessment

• To allow patient to get to know the transplant team, have their questions answered, understand the process & expected outcome

• To establish rapport with the patient & family so that they have confidence in the team & see them as their advocates

• To assess the need for a transplant• To reveal any contraindications or additional risk

factors for surgery

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Helpful Referral Information

• Comprehensive health history – current symptoms, past surgery, medications etc.

• Recent blood work, U/S, endoscopies, echocardiogram, CT scans, O.R. notes investigations related to diagnosis of liver disease

• Psycho-social situation, family supports, finances/insurance coverage

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Transplant Assessment Protocol

• Consults – surgery, medicine, social work, dietician, recipient coordinator

• Labs – comprehensive chemistry, serology, tumour markers

• Echocardiogram/MIBI• Doppler U/S +/-CT scan• Endoscopy/Colonoscopy• Other consults & investigations as indicated by medical history & test results

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Possible Outcomes of Assessment

• Too well – transplant not necessary at this time or other treatment is sufficient

• Appropriate for listing

• Unsuitable – because they have sepsis or require heart surgery, ETOH rehab before transplant

• Too ill & will never be appropriate for transplantation

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Transplant Patient Selection Criteria

• Accepted indications for Liver Transplantation

– Fulminant Failure (acute illness)– Hepatic malignancy (HCC) within criteria– Decompensated chronic liver diseases– Alcohol-related disease (abstinence, insight & rehab)– HCV, HBV, Autoimmune Hepatitis– Extra-hepatic conditions (hepatopulmonary )– Inherited metabolic liver disease (FAP, Wilson, etc.)

Contraindications to Transplant

• Inability to withstand or benefit from transplant• Extrahepatic or extensive tumour• Other life-threatening illness or Sepsis• Less than 50% chance of surviving 5 years• Unwilling to follow healthcare advice• Too well to warrant the risks• Lack of social support• Patient does not wish to have a transplant

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Adult Recipients : EtiologyPrimary Diagnosis

Hepatitis C 35%

Autoimmune (AIH, PBC, PSC) 21%

NASH/cryptogenic 17%

Alcohol-related 11%

Fulminant failure 5%

Hepatitis B 5%

Metabolic disease 3%

HCC (tumour) 15%

Re-transplant 8%

Symptoms of Liver Disease

• Hyperbilirubinemia• Renal dysfunction• Coagulopathy• Ascites/Edema/Effusions• Hypoalbuminemia• Bleeding• FatigueDecreased LOC->Coma• Muscle wasting• Hypoglycemia• Itch

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Optimizing Pre-Op Condition

• Maintain nutrition/conditioning -supplements, low salt diet & exercise (rarely necessary to restrict protein)

• Manage ascites/effusions – diuretics, diet, TIPS• Monitor for renal failure, electrolyte imbalance & tumours• Prevent Bleeding – beta blockers & banding• Prevent encephalopathy – lactulose, antibiotics• Treat itch – cholestyramine, rifampin, sertraline• Prevent peritonitis – ciprofloxin• Ensure realistic expectations of wait time, recovery & post-op

quality of life

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Viral Hepatitis – Pre-op Care

• Decrease viral load as much as possible as this impacts long-term survival

• Monitor for usual liver failure symptoms (particularly prone to tumours)

• Reinforce the fact that a liver transplant doesn’t clear the virus & that post-transplant viral treatment will be required

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Surveillance for Pre-op Patients

• Blood work as indicated by condition – including alphafetoprotein & viral loads

• U/S every 6 months (may require CT scans)• Echocardiogram yearly• Routine investigations for age, gender & specific disease

“another important part of pre-transplant care is providing understanding & compassion for their situation”

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Life threatening Pre-op Complications

• Patients with liver disease often don’t die from liver failure, but from complications related to poor liver function

• Hepatorenal syndrome & electrolyte/glucose & fluid imbalance

• Sepsis (pneumonia, peritonitis)• Malnutrition & Weakness that makes them prone to sepsis

Bleeding can often be controlled – banding/TIPSComa can usually be reversed with lactulose, fluids &

antibiotics (depending on the cause)

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Alcohol, Methadone & Narcotic Use

• Significant ETOH history requires at least 6 months abstinence +insight +relapse prevention program

• Stable methadone use is not a contraindication to transplantation in many programs

• Narcotic use may be necessary for chronic pain, however should be weaned if possible to prevent encephalopathy

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Transplant for people living with HIV

• People who have liver disease & are HIV+ may be candidates for liver transplant if their HIV viral load is undetectable

• Stable CD4 counts• They meet the standard criteria for transplant• No significant HIV related illness (such as Kaposi’s sarcoma)

“ the difficulty with HIV+ patients is that by the time their liver disease has progressed to the point of needing a transplant, the HIV has also progressed such that they may not be appropriate”

*The interaction of the transplant anti-rejection medications & HAARTdrugs makes it difficult to manage these patients after the transplant

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Hepatocellular Carcinoma - Milan Criteria

• The accepted listing criteria for transplant candidates with HCC

• Single lesion, ≤ 5 cm in size, or• No more then 3 lesions, all ≤ 3cm• No extrahepatic disease, vascular invasion or nodes

• Canadian Liver Transplant Study Group• There are other tumour criteria & each program

decides what is acceptable for their group

People who decline transfusions

• Patients who don’t accept blood transfusions may be eligible for liver transplant if;

• Low INR , adequate hemoglobin & platelets • Vascular anatomy is straightforward• Limited prior abdominal surgery

Patient is made aware that if their blood work deteriorates they may be removed from the list

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Quantifying Severity of Illness

• Not everyone with cirrhosis needs a transplant & we don’t rush into it because of the potential toxicity of the immunosuppression

• For those who do have life-threatening illness, it is necessary to rank the severity of illness in order to prevent pre-transplant deaths

• The aim is for everyone to have equitable access to the limited resource

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Model End Stage Liver Disease: MELD score

• MELD (or NaMELD)

– Based on objective indices• Albumin, INR, Bilirubin and creatinine

– Meant to bring fairness to patient selection & ensure that transplantation is needed

– Doesn’t always reflect degree of illness for those with hepatopulmonary syndrome, urea cycle defects

– Several variations of this formula– Criticized for favouring patients with tumours

MELD Calculator

Who Gets the Organ?

• Sickest patient• Compatible blood type• Size compatible• Longest Waiting Time

Liver Transplantation in Canada: Current Status

• Patient survival: 1yr = 92%, 3yr = 80%, 10yr = 60%

• Approximately 420 Liver transplants in Canada/year– 7 adult centers– 800 patients on liver transplant waiting lists– 150 deaths/year on waiting list

Expanding the Donor Pool

• Living Donor Liver Transplantation– Adult to Child, Adult to Adult– (relative, friend, or anonymous)

• Split Liver Transplantation• Donation After Cardiac Death (DCD)• Web-based ‘Matching’ service (not in Canada)

• Domino (amyloid liver given to another patient)

Living Donor Liver Transplantation

Split Liver TransplantationSplit Liver Transplantation

Left Lateral SegmentLeft Lateral SegmentLeft Hepatic VeinLeft Hepatic Vein

Right Portal Right Portal Vein with Vein with Common Common

Portal VeinPortal Vein

Left Portal Left Portal VeinVein

Right Hepatic Artery Right Hepatic Artery with Celiac Axiswith Celiac Axis

Right Hepatic DuctRight Hepatic Duct Left Hepatic Left Hepatic DuctDuct

Left Hepatic Left Hepatic ArteryArtery

Advantages of Living Donation

• Decreased waiting time • Reduced cold ischemic time

• Elective procedure

• Increased number of cadaver organs for others waiting for transplant

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Donation After Cardiac Death

• Occurs in hopeless cases in the hospital where the decision to withdraw life support is made (decision is independent of the decision to donate organs). These patients don’t meet the conventional “brain death” criteria

• Organ donation occurs immediately once the heart has stopped and the patient is declared dead

• This type of donation was initiated in response to families who were disappointed when their loved ones weren’t able to donate due to strict criteria

When a donor becomes available

• Patient is called in to hospital from home or local hospital

• Standard pre-op tests are performed • The transplant team travels to wherever the donor is

to inspect the organ & perform the hepatectomy• The liver is flushed with a preservation solution & delivered to the transplant hospital

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Transplant Surgery

• Takes 5-8 hours• Starts with careful removal of

patient’s liver (which is sent to pathology)

• Requires connecting veins, arteries & bile ducts

• Immunosuppression starts in the operating room

• Bile flow starts immediately & coagulation improves

• Patients then go directly to ICU

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Expected Peri-Operative Course

• Brief ICU stay• Up walking within a few

days• Able to walk a flight of

stairs before discharge from hospital

• Incision heals within 2 weeks

• Leave hospital in 1-3 weeks & stay in town for another week

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Follow-Up Care & Advice

• Lifelong Immunosuppression• Regular blood tests & check-ups • Encouraged to be active - live a normal &

healthy lifestyle• Transplant team available for transplant-

related concerns & family doctor can manage routine medical care

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Post-Op Issues In Liver Transplantation

• Long Term Issues

– Immunosuppression – side effects– Comorbidities – diabetes, heart disease– Renal dysfunction– Obesity– Recurrent disease & return to alcohol misuse– Malignancies – lymphoma, skin cancer– Failed expectations

Post-transplant Disease Recurrence

• HCV 100% (5yr -30%cirrhosis)• HBV 100% without prophylaxis• AIH/PBC/PSC 20%• NASH Up to 80%• HCC Depends on criteria

Patients may have some recurrence of their disease but usually not severe enough to require a second transplant

Re-transplant for Hepatitis C

• Very poor outcomes if the patient has liver failure within 5 years of the transplant

• Patients with severe recurrent Hep C are prone to diabetes & renal failure & this combination makes getting to a second transplant difficult & surviving a second transplant unlikely

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Quality of Life after Transplant

• Return to work & school within 2-6 months

• Able to travel, play sports & have children

• Most recipients rate their quality of life as good or excellent

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So…… What if I have questions???

If you have questions about referring a patient for transplant, please contact your local transplant coordinator or other transplant team members – we’re happy to take your call!!

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May your liver be smooth & you mind always clear,May you know only laughter throughout the year