Influence of early biliary complications on survival rates after pediatric liver transplantation—A positive outlook

Abstract

Background: Early biliary complications (EBC) constitute a burden after pediatric liver transplantation frequently requiring immediate therapy. We aimed to assess the impact of EBC on short- and long-term patient and graft survival as well as post-transplant morbidity. Methods: We analyzed 121 pediatric liver transplantations performed between 1984 and 2019 at the Medical University of Innsbruck for the occurrence of early (<90 days) biliary complications and investigated the influence of EBC on patient and graft survival. Results: Early biliary complications occurred in 30 (24.8%) out of the 121 pediatric liver transplant recipients. Patient survival at 15 years (89.2% vs. 84.2%, p =.65) and all-cause (82.5% vs. 74.0%) and death-censored graft survival (82.5% vs. 75.1%, p =.71) at 10 years were similar between the EBC and the non-EBC group. The EBC group had a significantly longer ICU (25 vs. 16 days, p