Outcomes of Controlled Donation After Cardiac Death Compared With Donation After Brain Death in Liver Transplantation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Controlled donation after cardiac death (CDCD) is increasingly common for liver transplantation due to donor shortage. However, the outcomes, in terms of grafts and recipients, remain unclear. The current study is a systematic review and meta-analysis that compared CDCD with donation after brain death (DBD).

Methods: We conducted an electronic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Database (from January 2007 to May 2017). Studies reporting Maastricht category III or IV CDCD liver transplantation were screened for inclusion. We appraised studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale and meta-analyzed using a fixed or random effects model.

Results: A total of 21 studies, with 12,035 patients, were included in data analysis. CDCD did not differ from DBD in patient survival (hazard ration: 1.20; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.98 to 1.47; P = .07), graft survival (hazard ratio: 1.24; 95% CI: 0.99 to 1.56; P = .06), primary nonfunction (odds ratio [OR]: 1.74; 95% CI: 1.00 to 3.03; P = .05), hepatic artery thrombosis (OR: 1.17; 95% CI: 0.78 to 1.74; P = .45). However, CDCD was associated with biliary complications (OR: 2.48; 95% CI: 2.05 to 3.00), retransplantation (OR: 2.54; 95% CI: 1.99 to 3.26), and peak alanine aminotransferase (weighted mean difference: 330.88; 95% CI: 259.88 to 401.87). A subgroup analysis that included only hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive recipients showed no significant difference between CDCD and DBD in biliary complications (P = .16), retransplantion (P = .15), HCV recurrence (P = .20), and peak alanine aminotransferase (P = .06).

Conclusions: CDCD transplantation is the most viable alternative to DBD transplantation in the current critical shortage of liver organs. HCV infection may not be the inferior factor of postoperative outcomes and survival.