Sumeet K. Asrani M.D.

Kasiske, B. L., S. K. Asrani, M. A. Dew, M. L. Henderson, C. Henrich, A. Humar, A. K. Israni, K. L. Lentine, A. J. Matas, K. A. Newell, D. LaPointe Rudow, A. B. Massie, J. J. Snyder, S. J. Taler, J. F. Trotter and A. D. Waterman (2017). “The living donor collective: A scientific registry for living donors.” Am J Transplant 17(12): 3040-3048.

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In the setting of an overall decline in living organ donation and new questions about long-term safety, a better understanding of outcomes after living donation has become imperative. Adequate information on outcomes important to donors may take many years to ascertain and may be evident only by comparing large numbers of donors with suitable controls. Previous studies have been unable to fully answer critical questions, primarily due to lack of appropriate controls, inadequate sample size, and/or follow-up duration that is too short to allow detection of important risks attributable to donation. The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network does not follow donors long term and has no prospective control group with which to compare postdonation outcomes. There is a need to establish a national living donor registry and to prospectively follow donors over their lifetimes. In addition, there is a need to better understand the reasons many potential donors who volunteer to donate do not donate and whether the reasons are justified. Therefore, the US Health Resources and Services Administration asked the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients to establish a national registry to address these important questions. Here, we discuss the efforts, challenges, and opportunities inherent in establishing the Living Donor Collective.

Horowitz, J. M., I. R. Kamel, H. Arif-Tiwari, S. K. Asrani, N. M. Hindman, H. Kaur, M. M. McNamara, R. B. Noto, A. Qayyum and T. Lalani (2017). “Acr appropriateness criteria(r) chronic liver disease.” J Am Coll Radiol 14(11s): S391-s405.

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Because liver fibrosis can be treated, it is important to diagnose liver fibrosis noninvasively and monitor response to treatment. Although ultrasound (grayscale and Doppler) can diagnose cirrhosis, it does so unreliably using morphologic and sonographic features and cannot diagnose the earlier, treatable stages of hepatic fibrosis. Transient elastography, ultrasound elastography with acoustic radiation force impulse, and MR elastography are modalities that can assess for hepatic fibrosis. Although all international organizations recommend ultrasound for screening for hepatocellular carcinoma, ultrasound is particularly limited for identifying hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with obesity, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and nodular cirrhotic livers. In these patient groups as well as patients who are on the liver transplant wait list, ultrasound is so limited that consideration can be made for screening for hepatocellular carcinoma with either MRI or multiphase CT. Additionally, patients who have been previously diagnosed with and treated for hepatocellular carcinoma require continued surveillance for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed annually by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and revision include an extensive analysis of current medical literature from peer reviewed journals and the application of well-established methodologies (RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation or GRADE) to rate the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures for specific clinical scenarios. In those instances where evidence is lacking or equivocal, expert opinion may supplement the available evidence to recommend imaging or treatment.

Gottlieb, R. L., T. Sam, S. Y. Wada, J. F. Trotter, S. K. Asrani, B. Lima, S. M. Joseph, G. V. Gonzalez-Stawinski and S. A. Hall (2017). “Rational heart transplant from a hepatitis c donor: New antiviral weapons conquer the trojan horse.” J Card Fail 23(10): 765-767.

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BACKGROUND: Donors with hepatitis C (HCV) viremia are rarely used for orthotopic heart transplantation (HT) owing to post-transplantation risks. New highly effective HCV antivirals may alter the landscape. METHODS: An adult patient unsuitable for bridging mechanical support therapy accepted a heart transplant offer from a donor with HCV viremia. On daily logarithmic rise in HCV viral load and adequate titers to ensure successful genotyping, once daily sofosbuvir (400 mg)-velpatasvir (100 mg) (Epclusa; Gilead) was initiated empirically pending HCV genotype (genotype 3a confirmed after initiation of therapy). RESULTS: We report the kinetics of acute hepatitis C viremia and therapeutic response to treatment with a new pangenotypic antiviral agent after donor-derived acute HCV infection transmitted incidentally with successful cardiac transplantation to an HCV-negative recipient. Prompt resolution of viremia was noted by the 1st week of a 12 week course of antiviral therapy. Sustained virologic remission continued beyond 12 weeks after completion of HCV therapy (SVR-12). CONCLUSIONS: The availability of effective pangenotypic therapy for HCV may expand donor availability. The feasibility of early versus late treatment of HCV remains to be determined through formalized protocols. We hypothesize pharmacoeconomics to be the greatest limitation to widespread availability of this promising tool.

Flores, A. and S. K. Asrani (2017). “The donor risk index: A decade of experience.” Liver Transpl 23(9): 1216-1225.

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In 2006, derivation of the donor risk index (DRI) highlighted the importance of donor factors for successful liver transplantation. Over the last decade, the DRI has served as a useful metric of donor quality and has enhanced our understanding of donor factors and their impact upon recipients with hepatitis C virus, those with low Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, and individuals undergoing retransplantation. DRI has provided the transplant community with a common language for describing donor organ characteristics and has served as the foundation for several tools for organ risk assessment. It is a useful tool in assessing the interactions of donor factors with recipient factors and their impact on posttransplant outcomes. However, limitations of statistical modeling, choice of donor factors, exclusion of unaccounted donor and geographic factors, and the changing face of the liver transplant recipient have tempered its widespread use. In addition, the DRI was derived from data before the MELD era but is currently being applied to expand the donor pool while concurrently meeting the demands of a dynamic allocation system. A decade after its introduction, DRI remains relevant but may benefit from being updated to provide guidance in the use of extended criteria donors by accounting for the impact of geography and unmeasured donor characteristics. DRI could be better adapted for recipients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by examining and including recipient factors unique to this population.

Gottlieb, R. L., T. Sam, S. Y. Wada, J. F. Trotter, S. K. Asrani, B. Lima, S. M. Joseph, G. Gonzalez-Stawinski and S. A. Hall (2017). “Rational heart transplant from hepatitis c donor: New antiviral weapons conquer the trojan.” J Card Fail: 2017 Aug [Epub ahead of print].

Full text of this article.

BACKGROUND: Donors with hepatitis C (HCV) viremia are rarely utilized for orthotopic heart transplantation (OHTx) due to post-transplant risks. New, highly effective HCV antivirals may alter the landscape. METHODS: An adult patient unsuitable for bridging mechanical support therapy accepted a heart transplant offer from a donor with HCV viremia. Upon daily logarithmic rise in HCV viral load and adequate titers to ensure successful genotyping, once daily sofosbuvir 400 mg / velpatasvir 100 mg (Epclusa) was initiated empirically pending HCV genotype (genotype 3a confirmed after initiation of therapy). RESULTS: We report the kinetics of acute Hepatitis C viremia and therapeutic response to treatment with a new pangenotypic antiviral agent after donor-derived acute HCV infection transmitted incidental to successful cardiac transplant into a HCV negative OHTx recipient. Prompt resolution of viremia was noted by the first week of a 12 week course of antiviral therapy. Sustained virologic remission continues beyond 12 weeks after completion of HCV therapy (SVR-12). CONCLUSIONS: The availability of effective pangenotypic therapy for HCV may expand donor availability. The feasibility of early versus late treatment of HCV remains to be determined through formalized protocols. We hypothesize pharmacoeconomics to be the greatest limitation to widespread availability of this promising tool.