Liver transplants: Not for all CF patients

LONDON, Nov 30, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A British study of cystic fibrosis patients suffering from bleeding complications indicates a liver transplant might not be indicated.

The study involved CF patients with abnormal bleeding from ruptured blood vessels in their esophagus (variceal bleeding) as a result of liver disease.

The research -- led by David Westaby of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London -- involved 18 CF patients, each of whom had suffered at least one episode of variceal bleeding. All but one of them had a liver appearance indicative of cirrhosis, although the majority had no clinical indications of liver disease.

The patients were treated with a variety of non-transplant measures, with the median survival for the group being 8.4 years -- not significantly shorter than the control group of 36 CF patients who had not suffered variceal hemorrhage, and even longer than that seen in patients without CF who have had variceal bleeding.

The authors suggest the history of cystic fibrosis liver disease is such that if liver function is good, a patient's survival depends on the progression of respiratory disease.

The results of the study appear in the December issue of the journal Liver Transplantation.

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