Risk factors of recipient receiving living donor liver transplantation in the comprehensive era of indication and perioperative managements.

Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has become one of the chief methods of saving patients with end-stage liver disease due to liver cirrhosis. Accumulation of knowledge about indication and perioperative managements improve outcome of this treatment. In this study, we elucidate the risk factors of LDLT, which still exist today. Sixty-one patients received LDLT in our institute between 2003 and 2009 were included in this study. Recipient age and sex, donor age and sex, etiology, preoperative model of end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), graft versus recipient weight ratio (GRWR), cold and warm ischemic time, operation time, blood loss, ABO compatibility, rejection, cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, biliary stricture, and calcineurin inhibitor (FK506 or cyclosporin A) were the factors investigated. p < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant in the proportional hazard model. In univariate analysis, the recipients' age (p = 0.024) and rejection episode (p = 0.046) were selected as significant risk factors. In multivariate analysis including the factors that showed p < 0.2 (recipient age, GRWR, ABO compatibility, rejection episode) in univariate analysis, recipient age (p = 0.008, HR: 1.40; 95% CI: 1.09-1.80) and rejection episodes (p = 0.002, HR: 13.33; 95% CI: 2.53-71.43) were still selected as significant independent risk factors after LDLT. Recipient age was shown to be 1.40 times risk per 1 year older and the rejection episode was shown to be 13.33 times risk in the recent era with comprehensive indication and preoperative management for LDLT. Indication must be cautious for elderly patients, and prevention of rejection is crucial for the improvement of results for LDLT.