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March 2020                                                                                                                   View this email in your browser
Dear colleagues and friends,

The Coronavirus pandemic is now disrupting daily life for all of us, and we very much regret the cancellation of the Joint ILTS-ELITA-LICAGE 2020 Congress in Istanbul. However, headquarters staff and dedicated groups of ILTS members are working harder than ever, re-scheduling the congress for May 2021, fast-tracking COVID-19 journal submissions, and building specialized web resources for COVID-19 information sharing.
 
Knowledge of the virus and its impact will evolve rapidly in coming weeks, but with our members’ help these resources will keep pace. Current web-pages include the ILTS COVID-19 Statement, recent and upcoming webinars, links to the latest scientific content, and a COVID-19 online forum. We hope you will use the online forum to report and discuss key clinical, ethical, and strategic issues, and to post questions for ILTS experts.
 
We especially welcome contributions from colleagues in badly affected countries, whose observations and reflections on the impact of the virus will be immensely  valuable to all. Many of our members work in Critical Care, on the front lines of this effort, and hearing from them would be a great service to their international colleagues.

We wish you well in keeping your families, colleagues, and patients safe, and look forward to your continuing support.

Claus U. Niemann                                                              n
ILTS President
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UPCOMING ILTS EVENTS
2020 ILTS Congress is Cancelled

We regret that the rapid spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has forced cancellation of the 2020 ILTS Congress in Istanbul. Since this step was taken, ILTS has been working on a cancellation and reimbursement plan to benefit all those affected. We now plan to hold the 2021 ILTS Congress in Istanbul, May 5-8, 2021. We will communicate with registered attendees, abstract submitters, invited faculty and other stakeholders soon - thanks to all for your patience. If you have any special concerns, please contact Claus Niemann at president@ilts.org or email the ILTS Secretariat at ilts@ilts.org at any time.
2020 ILTS Perioperative Care in Liver Transplantation Meeting 
The ILTS Perioperative Care Meeting 2020 will highlight the latest literature and expert opinion on the preoperative evaluation, intraoperative management, and postoperative care of liver transplant patients. A special pro/con session will focus on intraoperative monitoring and perioperative serum sodium management. Anesthesiologists, critical care specialists, and all those involved in liver perioperative care should join us in Washington D.C. for the best specialist CME and networking event in the field!

Stay tuned for more information here!
SOCIETY NEWS
ILTS COVID-19 Response

COVID-19 Statement from the Infectious Diseases and Liver Transplantation SIG

The concern for global spread of the coronavirus strain, Covid-19, initially found in Wuhan, China must be recognized by the organ transplant community.  To our knowledge, Covid-19 has not been described in blood, tissue or organ transplant recipients. However, as with SARS and MERS infections that were reported in transplant recipients during their outbreaks, it is likely just a matter of time.(1),(2)  Prior experience suggests that there will be a spectrum from asymptomatic to severe illness and that viral shedding (and risk of transmission to others) may be prolonged in organ recipients.
 
Read more
COVID Webinars hosted by ILTS and other Transplant Societies
On March 23, the ILTS Vanguard Committee and Infectious Diseases SIG organized the first COVID-19 and Transplantation Webinar.
Mark your calendars for the next COVID webinar on Tuesday, March 31 at 6:00 am.

 
Find out more

Useful information on COVID-19 for the international liver transplantation community.

- AJT has been expediting review of all papers dealing with COVID-19, as well as making them free to access for all: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/16006143/covid19
- Guidance on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for Transplant Clinicians from the TID Section of TTS: https://tts.org/tid-about/tid-presidents-message/23-tid/tid-news/657-tid-update-and-guidance-on-2019-novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-for-transplant-id-clinicians

 
Useful Resources on COVID-19

COVID-19 Discussion Forum

This COVID-19 Discussion Forum is open to all members of the international liver transplantation community wishing to share their experience, reflections, and questions. It will be moderated by Varvara Kirchner, Manhal Izzy and Timothy Pruett, members of the ILTS Infectious Diseases Special Interest Group.
We anticipate that other members of the ID SIG will update us on experience in all parts of the globe.

 
Join the Forum here
ILTS 2020 Consensus Conference Videocast
The Consensus Conference on DCD, Liver Preservation & Machine Perfusion was a tremendous success! Convened by Amelia J. Hessheimer, Marit Kalisvaart and colleagues in the ILTS Special Interest Group, the program attracted more than 150 specialists and researchers in the field. ILTS thanks all meeting speakers, who graciously agreed to have their lectures recorded. Join ILTS to view these lectures now!
 
Lecture recordings
Presenting the EDI Committee
Founded in 2017 as the ILTS Women in Liver Transplantation Committee, the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (EDI) has redefined its purpose and scope. Its key goals are to facilitate educational and professional development and promote an inclusive working environment for all ILTS members.
 
Discover more
 WHAT WE'RE READING 
The March issue of Transplantation, the official Journal of the International Liver Transplantation Society and the Transplantation Society, is out now.

A must read for anyone working in the field of liver transplantation.
Free access for ILTS members!

Article selections by Mike Spiro, Amelia Hessheimer and Isabel Campos Varela.
Scientific co-ordination and social media editing by Ryan Chadha and Marit Kalisvaart
Liver Transplantation
Frailty Is Associated With Increased Rates of Acute Cellular Rejection Within 3 Months After Liver Transplantation
Frailty, a state of decreased physiological reserve, has been associated with dysregulation of the immune system. We hypothesized that frailty is associated with differential rates of acute cellular rejection (ACR) in liver transplantation (LT) recipients. Read more.

American Journal of Transplantation
Blood pressure control according to clinical practice guidelines is associated with decreased mortality and cardiovascular events among liver transplant recipients
Data for liver transplant recipients (LTRs) regarding the benefit of care concordant with clinical practice guidelines for management of blood pressure (BP) are sparse. This paper reports on clinician adherence with BP clinical practice guideline recommendations and whether BP control is associated with mortality and cardiovascular events (CVEs) among LTRs. Read more.


American Journal of Transplantation
Application of pediatric donors in split liver transplantation: is there an age limit?
The experience of using pediatric donors in split liver transplant is exceedingly rare. We aim to investigate the outcomes of recipients receiving split pediatric grafts. Sixteen pediatric recipients receiving split liver grafts from 8 pediatric donors < 7 years were enrolled.  Read more.

Liver Transplantation
Posttransplant Complications Predict Alcohol Relapse in Liver Transplant Recipients
Alcohol relapse after liver transplantation (LT) in patients with alcohol‐related liver disease (ALD) is a major challenge. Although its association with pretransplant psychosocial factors was extensively studied, the impacts of posttransplant courses on alcohol relapse have not been well investigated Read more.

American Journal of Transplantation
Long‐term impact and clinical significance of living donor liver transplantation with respect to donor liver restoration and spleen size: A prospective study
This study aimed to evaluate postoperative long-term liver restoration and splenic enlargement and their clinical significance in living donor liver transplantation. One hundred and sixteen donors who had donated livers more than 5 years previously accepted the invitation to participate in this study Read more.

Liver Transplantation
Outcomes of Acute Liver Injury in Adults Due to Wilson’s Disease: Is Survival Without Transplant Possible?
Wilson's disease (WD) is a rare cause of acute liver failure (ALF) that is thought to have a uniformly fatal outcome without liver transplantation (LT). Previous studies proposed diagnostic and prognostic criteria for WD-ALF. Read more.


Liver Transplantation
Hepatocyte-Specific Magnetic Resonance Imaging–Based Assessment of Indeterminate Hepatic Nodules in the Liver Transplant Evaluation of Patients With Cirrhosis
We aimed to determine the identities in explants of indeterminate hepatic nodules (IDNs) that had been scanned by dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to establish clinicoradiological parameters predicting which IDNs were hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). Read more.


Annals of Surgical Treatment and Research
Is renal replacement therapy necessary in deceased donor liver transplantation candidates with hepatorenal syndrome?: a 2-year experience at a high-volume center
Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is a fatal complication in patients with end-stage liver disease awaiting liver transplantation (LT). HRS often develops in patients with high model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score. This study investigated the outcomes of peritransplant management of HRS in a high-volume LT center in Korea for 2 years. Read more.


Transplantation Direct
Association of Perioperative Variables and the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Liver Transplant Recipients
The assessment of perioperative risk factors for the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has been described in various surgical populations. However, there are only limited data among patients undergoing liver transplantation (LT), particularly regarding the influence of intraoperative ventilation parameters. We sought to identify the perioperative risk factors associated with the development of ARDS in LT recipients. Read more.
 MOST VIEWED ARTICLES 
Last Month (February, 2020)
 
1.   Incidence, Predictors, and Impact on Survival of Long-term Cardiovascular Events After Liver Transplantation (link).

2.   An integrated perfusion machine preserves injured human livers for 1 week (link).
 
3. New Evidence Supporting Increased Use of Split Liver Transplantation (link).
2019
 
1. Recipient age and mortality after liver transplantation: A population-based cohort study (link)

2. Immune-mediated graft dysfunction in liver transplant recipients with hepatitis C virus treated with direct-acting antiviral therapy (link) 

3. ILTS consensus statement on end-stage liver disease due to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and liver transplantation (link)
OTHER MEETINGS
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Due to the evolving situation related to COVID-19, most events of the first semester have been cancelled. Check out the Meeting Section on ILTS Website for updated information.
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Newsletter edited with the kind help of Andrea Olmos and John Klinck

International Liver Transplantation Society
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Kurfürstendamm 71, 10709 Berlin, Germany
+49 30 24603-349 | Contact Us 

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