Changing Trend in Indications for Liver Transplantation in the U.S.

With the advent of direct-acting antiviral therapies for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, the frequency of liver transplantation (LT) performed because of HCV infection is expected to decline. A recent study did show this down-trending of HCV as an indication for LT through 2015, though it was still the leading indication for LT.

Researchers have now updated those data from the United Network for Organ Sharing, analyzing the proportions of annual waitlist additions and LT surgeries attributed to the three leading causes of LT — HCV, alcoholic liver disease (ALD), and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) — through December 2016. A subanalysis of limited data from January 2017 through October 2017 was also performed.

From 2012 to 2016, chronic…