ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

The prevalence of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) in the general population has not yet been clearly established. The management of PSC should focus on delaying the progression of the disease and restraining its complications. The only curative therapy for the disease remains liver transplantation (LT). PSC is currently the fifth most common indication for LT and corresponds to 5% of all LT indications in adults.

AIMS:

Our objective is to evaluate the indications and outcomes of PSC patients undergoing LT in three liver transplantation centers in southern Brazil – Hospital Santa Isabel in Blumenau, Santa Catarina state, and Hospital das Clínicas and Hospital Nossa Senhora das Graças, in Curitiba, Parana state).

METHODS:

This is a longitudinal observational study of patients with PSC who underwent LT in three major Brazilian medical centers. Electronic medical records and study protocols of all patients subjected to LT from January 2011 to December 2021 were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS:

Of the 1,362 transplants performed in the three medical centers, 37 were due to PSC. Recurrence of PSC occurred in three patients (8.1%) in 3.0±2.4 years (range, 1–4 years). The 1-year and 5-year survival rates after the first LT were 83.8 and 80.6%, respectively. The 1-year and 5-year graft survival rates were, respectively, 83.8 and 74.8%.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our experience with LT in patients with PSC demonstrated good patient and graft survival results. Most deaths were due to common factors in patients undergoing LT.