Abstract

PESTANA, E et al. Consulta hepatología pediátrica pretrasplante: Importancia de la misma en el programa de trasplante hepático pediátrico. Gen [online]. 2011, vol.65, n.2, pp.101-104. ISSN 0016-3503.

Introduction: Pediatric liver pre-transplantation consultation is very important in a liver transplant program, there different aspects are assessed, such as the indication the transplant, disease stage, associated comorbidities and it allows us to correct them as they will affect the survival after transplantation. The objective was to determine the characteristics of the pediatric population evaluated as potential transplant candidates. Patients And Methods: A retrospective study was performed. All pediatric patients who were referred for evaluation as potential candidates for liver transplantation from 2005 to 2010 were included. RESULTS: 152 patients were studied, 65 (43%) were males and 87 (57%) females, mean age 6.16 ± 5.24 years. At the time of the study 61 patients had no indication for transplant, 35 were been evaluated, 28 were transplanted, 21 died and 7 were referred. The indications for transplantation were: decreased hepatic synthesis 20, hepatopulmonary syndrome 2, gastrointestinal bleeding 3, hepatorenal syndrome 2 and one subacute liver failure. Of the transplanted patients 16 had some degree of previous malnutrition, 3 had ascites, 7 had presented gastrointestinal bleeding, 6 had infections (urinary, respiratory and dental abscess), and 24 had dental pathologies. The 28 patients had an incomplete immunization schedule during the evaluation. All these problems were treated prior to transplantation. Conclusion: the pediatric liver pretransplantation consultation is of most importance since in it we identify patients with indication for transplantation; in addition, we can completely asses the patient allowing us to recognize morbidities associated with the end stage liver disease and resolve them before transplantation, improving subsequent survival.

Keywords : Evaluation; Pretrasplant; Liver; Pediatric.