Ethnic Differences in Liver Transplant Outcomes Among Adults With Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis

Feb 1, 2021 | Konstantinos N. Lazaridis, M.D. | @klazaridis

Absence of medical therapy for primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) leads to end-stage liver disease requiring liver transplantation (LT). However, studies specifically evaluating whether ethnic disparities in LT outcomes exist are limited. In a recent study published in the Journal of Liver Transplantation, Bayable et al., retrospectively evaluated US adults with PSC listed for LT between 2005-2017 using the United Network for Organ Sharing database. Among 4,046 patients with PSC listed for LT (69.2% men, 82.2% non-Hispanic white, 12.4% African American, 3.9% Hispanic, 1.6% Asian), significantly higher risk of waitlist death was seen in men vs. women, but no ethnicity-specific differences were noted. Compared with non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics had significantly lower probability of receiving LT. Among patients with PSC and end-stage liver disease who underwent LT, African Americans had significantly higher risk of post-LT death compared with non-Hispanic whites. The study concluded that significant ethnicity-specific disparities in LT outcomes were observed.