Caner Altun1 , Osman Saglam2 , Muhammed Furkan Keser3 , Engin Ataman4 , Cumali Savas Efe5 , Hilal Burkek1 , Sezai Yilmaz6 , Murat Harputluoglu7 2Department of Gastroenterology, Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkiye
3Department of Gastroenterology, School of Medical, Inonu University, Malatya, Turkiye
4Department of Gastroenterology, Necip Fazıl Ctiy Hospital, Kahramanmaraş, Turkiye
5Department of Gastroenterology, Harran University Medical Faculty, Sanliurfa, Turkiye
6Inonu University Medical Faculty, Liver Transplant Institute, General Surgery, Malatya, Turkiye
7School of Medical, Liver Transplant Institute, Transplant Hepatology, Inonu University Malatya, Turkiye
Abstract
Background and aim: Although there are a few studies reporting transplantation for celiac disease (CD), there are no studies reporting long-term outcomes after transplantation in CD patients. Therefore, we aimed to report the long-term outcomes of patients who underwent liver transplantation (LT) for CD in our high-volume liver transplantation center.
Material and Methods: Our study was a single-center, retrospective study and included 28 CD patients who underwent LT at Inonu University. CD diagnosis was made based on anti-tissue transglutaminase or anti-endomysium antibody positivity and/or duodenal biopsy results.
Results: The 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year survival rates after transplantation were 92.9%, 92.9%, 84.4%, and 75%, respectively. The most striking finding in the study was the high frequency of biliary complications. Another important finding was the significant difference in body mass index (BMI) between pre-transplant and post-transplant (p<0.001). The incidence of rejection and recurrence was 39.1% and 25%, respectively. The number of patients with high anti-tissue transglutaminase (anti-TTG) levels after transplantation decreased significantly (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Our study suggests that the frequency of post-transplant biliary complications is very high in CD patients and that LT had positive effects on BMI and anti-tissue transglutaminase levels.
