Neurologic Problems After Pediatric Liver Transplantation and Combined Liver and Bowel Transplantations: A Single Tertiary Centre Experience

Abstract

Background. Neurologic problems postpediatric liver transplant have been reported in up to 46% of cases, and mortality is higher in the pediatric age group compared with adults. Methods. An internal audit was performed in all children undergoing solid organ transplant in the Liver unit at Birmingham Children's Hospital to identify children with neurologic complications. Results. One hundred seventeen children underwent 127 pediatric liver transplant and combined liver and small bowel transplant episodes over a 4-year period. Neurologic problems were present after 31 of 127 (24.4%) transplant episodes involving 29 children. Seizures were the most common presentation (n=17; 54.8%), followed by encephalopathy (n=11; 35.4%) and posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy syndrome (n=6; 19.3%). Other complications noted were central nervous system infection (n=4; 12.9%), cerebrovascular accident (n=3; 9.6%), peripheral neuropathy (n=2; 6.4%) and tremor, transient blurring of vision, auditory hallucinations and choreoathetosis (n=1; 3.2%) each. There were 27 deaths (23%) in 117 children after transplantation, and the mortality rate in the group with neurologic problem was 13.3% (n=4) compared with 26.7% (n=23) in children without neurologic problem (odds ratio 0.45, 95% confidence interval 0.142–1.439). In contrast to other studies, our study showed that the mortality rate was not higher in children with neurologic problems. Conclusion. Neurologic problems were relatively common after pediatric liver transplantation and combined liver and bowel transplantations; however, the mortality was lower when compared with previously reported studies.