Survival of liver transplant patients in Colombia by age group
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59093/27112330.159Keywords:
liver transplantation, survival, organ donor, older adult.Abstract
Introduction. Liver transplantation has become a therapeutic option capable of curing cirrhosis and its complications. Advances in this field have allowed older adults to access this procedure without age being a limiting factor. These developments have led to changes in organ donation and transplantation policies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the survival of older adults compared with younger recipients. Methods. A cohort study was conducted including patients who underwent liver transplantation at a hospital in Colombia. Recipients were divided by age, using 60 years as the cutoff point. Survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and crude hazard ratios (HRs) were reported. Multivariate analysis was performed using a Cox regression model, adjusting
for potential confounding variables. Results. A total of 179 patients were evaluated. The median age was 60 years (IQR 52-65), and 55.9% were male. Cirrhosis was present in 92.7% of cases, with various etiologies, most notably alcohol related liver disease (25.8%) and MASH (18.0%). Survival among patients younger than 60 years (n=88) at one, three, and five years was 81.8%, 80.7%, and 79.5%, respectively; among those older than 60 years (n=91), it was 84.6%, 78.0%, and 75.8%, respectively, with no statistically significant differences (p=0.6). Conclusion. Overall, although patients older than 60 years showed a slight decrease in long-term survival, the difference was not statistically significant, suggesting that age alone should not be considered a contraindication for liver transplantation.
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