Influence of immunocomplexes in vascular thrombosis in liver transplantation

Abstract

The immunocomplex presence has been associated with this complication in both kidney and heart transplantation, its etiology in the setting of liver transplantation remains unknown. We performed a retrospective study, including patients who underwent liver transplantation (n=373) during the period between 2000 and June 2013, at the "12 de Octubre” Hospital Two groups were defined: group 1 (positive inmunocomplexes) and group 2 (negative immunocomplex). Mean age was 54 ± 10,5 in group 1 vs 54 ± 10,5 in group 2 (p=NS). 75% and 68.5% of patients were male in groups 1 and 2 respectively. The rate of hepatocellular carcinoma was 16.1% in group 1 vs 27.6% in group 2 (p 0.007), while HCV infection was 38.5% in group 1 and 54.7% in group 2 (p 0.002). No statistically significant differences were found related to blood product transfusion, ICU or ward stay, MELD score. Pretransplant portal thrombosis was 13.2% in group 1 vs 16% in group 2 (p 0.05). However, there were no statistically significant differences regarding post-transplant arterial thrombosis (4.2% group 1 vs 3.4% group 2; p 0.63) or in relation to post-transplant portal thrombosis, which was 1% in group 1 and 1.1% in group 2 (p 0.95). Actuarial survival rates at 1, 3 and 5 years for group 1 were 85.6%, 76.6%, and 71.3% respectively, while for group 2 they were 80.7%, 72.9% and 66.3%, (p 0.109). In our series, immunocomplex presence has not been confirmed to be a relevant factor in the development of graft vascular thrombosis in liver transplantation.