Briefly noted: JS Neto, et al. Liver Transpl 2015; 21: 922-7.

This retrospective cohort study of 347 biliary atresia patients who underwent liver transplantation )LT) (1995-2013) divided patients into eraly Kasai failures (K-EF) (27%), late Kasai failures (K-LF) (33%), and no Kasai portenterostomy (No-K) (40%). K-EF was defined by patients who underwent LT before 12 months of age.

Key findings:

• After adjustment of confounding factors, the K-LF group had an 84% less probability of dying and 55% less chance to undergo retransplantation.
• Having a K-EF did not have an effect on patient or graft survival compared to No-K.
• Both the K-LF and K-EF had more post-LT biliary complications.

Bottomline: This retrospective study suggests that if a Kasai portoenterostomy helps postpone LT then this results in improved outcomes; whereas if it is ineffective, it does not impact survival compared to those who did not undergo a Kasai.

Related blog posts:

• START Study: Steroids Not Effective For Biliary Atresia (After Kasai …
• Outcomes of Biliary Atresia | gutsandgrowth

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