Peripheral eosinophil count both before and after liver transplantation predicts acute cellular rejection

Abstract

Acute cellular rejection is common after orthotopic liver transplantation and an important cause of graft dysfunction. Eosinophils, potent mediators of tissue damage, have been implicated in the pathogenesis of acute rejection. We studied 55 patients, all of whom had a protocol biopsy 7 days after transplantation and whose peripheral eosinophil count was monitored daily for 11 days after transplantation. Patients were divided clinicopathologically into two groups: group A, without rejection, group B, with rejection. Group B (36% of patients) developed rejection within the 11- day study period. The pretransplant eosinophil count was significantly higher in group B, compared with group A (0.31 ± 0.08 v 0.10 ± 0.01 (x109/L), p