Myosteatosis is one of the common complications in patients with end-stage liver disease, which is significantly associated with poor outcomes after liver transplantation. Currently, diagnostic criteria of myosteatosis have not been established, and CT is the most commonly used for diagnosis. The pathogenesis of myosteatosis is multifactorial, and the pathophysiological mechanisms linking it to end-stage liver disease are not fully understood. An increasing number of scholars have recognized that the severity of myosteatosis is closely related to its clinical consequences, but there are no effective treatment options available. This article reviews the pathophysiological mechanisms and diagnostic methods of myosteatosis, and its impact on the prognosis of liver transplant recipients, and discusses current treatment strategies to provide references for the perioperative management of liver transplant recipients.

Liver transplantation is the preferred treatment for end-stage liver disease, but recipients require long-term immunosuppressive therapy to control rejection, which may lead to complications and affect their long-term survival. Immune tolerance refers to the ability of organ transplant recipients to maintain their immune system's tolerance to the graft without relying on long-term immunosuppressants. Immune tolerance is an ideal goal pursued in the field of organ transplantation, which can reduce adverse drug reactions and improve long-term survival rates. Cell therapy has emerged as a promising strategy to induce such tolerance after liver transplantation. Therefore, this article reviews the application progress of cell therapies such as regulatory T cells, regulatory dendritic cells, mesenchymal stem cells, hematopoietic stem cells, etc. in inducing immune tolerance after liver transplantation, in order to provide reference for the clinical application of immune tolerance induction after liver transplantation.

Objective To explore the clinical characteristics of organ donors in the intensive care unit (ICU), analyze the impact of comprehensive ICU treatment on organ function maintenance and donation efficiency, and provide data support for optimizing organ donation management strategies. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 263 donors who underwent organ donation after ineffective active treatment in the ICU of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from January 2020 to January 2024. The clinical characteristics, main therapeutic measures in the ICU, and organ donation situations were analyzed. Results The 263 organ donors had an out-of-hospital hospitalization duration of 2 (1, 5) days and an in-hospital hospitalization duration of 4 (3, 6) d. The acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ (APACHE Ⅱ) score at admission was (21±5). Among them, 16.7% had a history of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, 30.4% had a history of hypertension, and 48.7% had a history of cranial surgery. The duration of enteral nutrition provided in the ICU was 18 (8, 32) h, with daily energy provision of 160 (0, 320) kcal, parenteral nutrition provided non-protein energy of 877 (710, 1 058) kcal daily. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy was performed 0.25 (0, 0.50) times a day. Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) was performed in 90.1% of the cases, with an average daily duration of 10 (6, 16) h. The daily dosage of human albumin was 40 (30, 50) g, and the daily dosage of methylprednisolone was 120 (80, 160) mg. The most commonly used empirical anti-infection regimens included cefoperazone-sulbactam in 59 cases (22.4%), meropenem combined with vancomycin in 31 cases (11.8%), and piperacillin-tazobactam in 29 cases (11.0%). The most commonly used goal-directed anti-infection adjustment regimen was meropenem combined with vancomycin in 21 cases (8.0%). After comprehensive treatment in the ICU, cardiac function, some liver functions, some coagulation functions, renal function, electrolytes, and infection indicators improved. A total of 981 organs were donated by the 263 organ donors, with 23 organs discarded. The average organ yield rate was 3.64, and the organ utilization rate was 97.7%. Conclusions Comprehensive ICU treatment may significantly improve the cardiac function, some liver functions, coagulation functions, and infection indicators of organ donors, enhance the effect of organ function maintenance, and provide an effective guarantee for optimizing organ donation management in the ICU and improving organ utilization rates.

BACKGROUND: Pre-transplant exposure to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) significantly increases the risk of allograft rejection after liver transplantation (LT); however, whether ICI-related rejection leads to increased graft loss remains controversial. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between ICI-related allograft rejection and perioperative graft loss. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of adult liver transplant recipients with early biopsy-proven T-cell-mediated rejection (TCMR) at Liver Transplantation Center of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital from June 2019 to September 2024. The pathological features, clinical characteristics, and perioperative graft survival were analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-eight patients who underwent early TCMR between June 2019 and September 2024 were included. Based on pre-LT ICI exposure, recipients were categorized into ICI-related TCMR (irTCMR, n = 12) and conventional TCMR (cTCMR, n = 16) groups. Recipients with irTCMR had a higher median Banff rejection activity index (RAI) (6 vs . 5, P = 0.012) and more aggressive tissue damage and inflammation. Recipients with irTCMR showed higher proportion of treatment resistance, achieving a complete resolution rate of only 8/12 compared to 16/16 for cTCMR. Graft loss occurred in 5/12 of irTCMR recipients within 90 days after LT, with no graft loss in cTCMRs recipients. Cox analysis demonstrated that irTCMR with an ICI washout period of <30 days was an independent risk factor for perioperative graft loss (hazard ratio [HR], 6.540; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.067-40.067, P = 0.042). CONCLUSION IrTCMR is associated with severe pathological features, increased resistance to treatment, and higher graft loss in adult liver transplant recipients.
Humans ; Liver Transplantation/adverse effects* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Graft Rejection/immunology* ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Adult ; T-Lymphocytes/drug effects* ; Graft Survival/immunology* ; Aged

Background and aims:Despite growing evidence linking pretransplant exposure to immune checkpoint inhibitors(ICIs)to increased allograft rejection risk after liver transplantation(LT),a lack of comparative studies to definitively establish the correlation between ICI exposure and adverse short-term outcomes after LT exists.This study aimed to analyze the impact of preoperative ICI exposure on short-term post-LT prognosis and allograft rejection risk.Methods:This retrospective cohort study included 121 recipients who underwent LT for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)between June 2019 and March 2023.The recipients were categorized into ICI(n=35)and non-ICI(n=86)exposure groups based on pretransplant ICI exposure.Demographics,clinical characteristics,and short-term outcomes were compared between the cohorts.Kaplan-Meier analysis evaluated the impact of ICI exposure on graft survival.Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models assessed the impact of patient characteristics on allograft rejection.Results:Recipients with or without ICI exposure exhibited comparable demographic baseline charac-teristics.The incidences of early allograft dysfunction and biliary and vascular complications were similar between both groups.Post-transplant infection incidence was 37.1％and 20.9％in the ICI and non-ICI groups,respectively(P=0.064).Allograft rejection rates were significantly higher in the ICI group than in the non-ICI group(22.9％vs.5.8％,P=0.015).The ICI group exhibited a higher 90-day post-transplant mortality rate than that of the non-ICI group(14.3％vs.2.3％,P=0.034).Logistic regression analyses demonstrated that allograft rejection independently correlated with 90-day post-transplant mortality,with ICI exposure being an independent risk factor for allograft rejection.In recipients with ICI exposure,a shorter interval between ICIs and LT(washout period)was significantly associated with a higher allograft rejection risk,with the optimal washout period identified as 21 days for predicting 90-day rejection-free survival(P=0.0001).Moreover,in recipients with allograft rejection,the peripheral CD4+/CD8+T cell ratio was much lower in the ICI group than in the non-ICI group.Conclusions:Pretransplant ICI exposure was an independent risk factor for allograft rejection and was significantly associated with 90-day post-transplant mortality after LT for HCC.A ≤21-day washout period was significantly associated with allograft rejection.Future multicenter studies with larger cohorts and prospective designs are essential to validate these findings,confirm causality,and establish standardized clinical guidelines for ICI use before transplantation.Trail registration:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05913583.

Objective This study aimed to investigate the physical activity status of liver transplant patients,explore the relevant influencing factors,and provide a basis for developing a physical activity management program for this population.Methods A convenience sampling method was used from January to May 2023 to investigate 250 liver transplant patients in a tertiary hospital in Guangzhou,using a general situation questionnaire,international physical activity questionnaire,exercise fear scale,and organ transplant patient symptom and happiness scale.Ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the relevant influencing factors of physical activity in liver transplant patients.Results 240 valid questionnaires were collected,and the median total metabolic equivalent of physical activity in liver transplant patients was 2 433(506,30263)MET-min/week patients.Ordinal logistic regression analysis revealed that body mass index(BMI),time to transplantation,postoperative follow-up,fear of exercise,and quality of life were significant factors influencing physical activity in liver transplant patients(P＜0.05).Conclusion Liver transplant patients have lower levels of physical activity,mainly with light activity intensity such as walking.Medical staff need to pay attention to the management of physical activity in liver transplant patients,especially for obese and low-quality of life patients.Postoperative follow-up should be strengthened to improve their fear of exercise and promote early and regular exercise.

Primary liver cancer (liver cancer) is one of the main indications of liver transplantation in China. Nevertheless, the 5-year survival rate of liver transplant recipients is lower than 50%. Recurrence and metastasis after operation are the main causes affecting the long-term survival of the recipients. At present, immunotherapy, represented by programmed cell death protein 1(PD-1)/programmed cell death protein-ligand 1(PD-L1) immune checkpoint inhibitor, has achieved remarkable clinical efficacy in the treatment of middle-stage and advanced liver cancer. However, whether it can be applied in recipients with recurrence and metastasis after liver transplantation for liver cancer remains controversial. The main reason is that it may cause acute rejection at the same time. In this article, the research progresses on the application of immunotherapy in recipients with recurrence and metastasis after liver transplantation for liver cancer were reviewed, aiming to improve the survival rate of recipients undergoing liver transplantation forliver cancer.

Organ transplantation is one of the effective methods for the treatment of end-stage diseases, but the lack of donors has hindered the development of organ transplantation. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) can improve the hypoxia and hypoperfusion of organs, shorten the warm ischemia time, and maintain the function of donor organs effectively, in case of emergency or donor hemodynamic instability. It helps to make effective use of donor organs and benefit patients who are in urgent need of organ transplants. This article summarized the progress on application of ECMO in donor maintenance and provided suggestions for its application in organ transplantation.

PURPOSE: Intestinal dysfunction is one of the most common complications in patients after abdominal surgery. Daikenchuto (DKT), a traditional herbal medicine, is recently employed to improve postoperative intestinal dysfunction. The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the efficacy of DKT in improving intestinal dysfunction after abdominal surgery. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane library were systematically searched to identify randomized controlled trails (RCTs) in adult patients undergoing abdominal surgery, who were randomly distributed to administrate DKT and placebo. The primary outcomes included the time to first postoperative flatus or bowel movement. We used random-effects models to calculate summary mean differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Nine RCTs totaling 1,212 patients (618 in DKT, 594 in control group) were included in our study. Compared with control group, DKT can effectively improve postoperative intestinal dysfunction by shortening the time to first postoperative flatus (MD, −0.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.66 to −0.16; P = 0.001) with significant heterogeneity (I2 = 71%, P = 0.004), and bowel movement (MD, −0.65; 95% CI, −0.97 to −0.32; P < 0.001) without significant heterogeneity (I2 = 40%, P = 0.14). Sensitivity analyses by indication of surgery and type of surgery yielded similar results. CONCLUSION: These data provide limited evidence that DKT shows efficacy on improving intestinal dysfunction after abdominal surgery. However, the results should be interpreted cautiously, due to the heterogeneity of the studies included. Thus, the efficacy of DKT on improving postoperative intestinal dysfunction warrants further investigation.
Adult ; Flatulence ; Herbal Medicine ; Humans ; Population Characteristics

ObjectiveTo investigate the safety and curative effect of laparoscopic microwave coagulation combined with hepatectomy for liver cirrhosis complicated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).MethodsClinical data of 58 patients with liver cirrhosis complicated with HCC diagnosed and treated in Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University between Janunary 2009 and November 2013 were retrospectively studied. The patients were divided into the microwave coagulation combined with hepatectomy group (the combination group) and the simple microwave coagulation group (the coagulation group) according to different treatment methods. Among the 37 patients in the combination group, 29 were males and 8 were females with average age of (54±9) years old. Among the 21 patients in the combination group, 17 were males and 4 were females with average age of (58±10) years old. The informed consents of all patients were obtained and the local ethical committee approval had been received. The patients in the coagulation group only underwent laparoscopic microwave coagulation, while the patients in the combination group underwent hepatectomy after marking a incision line 1-2 cm from the tumor edge and undergoing microwave coagulation. The intraoperative blood loss and the duration of operation of two groups were observed. The comparison of the intraoperative blood loss and the duration of operation were conducted using Wilcoxon rank-sum test and the survival analysis was conducted using Log-rank test and Z test.ResultsThe intraoperative blood loss of the combination group was 146 (58-250) ml, which was signiifcantly higher than 13 (10-25) ml of the coagulation group (Z=7.824,P<0.05). The duration of operation of the combination group was 177 (83-275) min, which was signiifcantly longer than 93 (36-135) min of the coagulation group (Z=8.650,P<0.05). The 3-year cumulative survival rate and 1-, 3-year disease free survival of the combination group were respectively 97%, 83%, 92%, which were signiifcantly higher than 64%, 71%, 43% of the coagulation group (Z=10.054, 9.011, 7.112;P<0.05).ConclusionsLaparoscopic microwave coagulation combined with hepatectomy for liver cirrhosis complicated with HCC is safe and effective. The long-term curative effect is better than that of simple laparoscopic microwave coagulation.