PSC-specific prognostic scores associated with graft loss and overall mortality in recurrent PSC after liver transplantation.

Abstract

Background: Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a progressive liver disease with no treatment apart from liver transplantation (LT). After LT, patients can develop recurrent PSC (rPSC). The United-Kingdom (UK-PSC) and Amsterdam-Oxford (AOPSC) scores are used as prognostic models for PSC outcomes.

Aim: We aimed to assess these scores as predictive tools for graft loss and overall mortality in rPSC.

Methods: We evaluated 67 people who developed rPSC. Using Cox regression models, we quantified associations between UK-PSC and AOPSC scores and graft loss and overall mortality. Cut-offs were established using receiver operator characteristic analysis and the highest Youden index.

Results: Fifty-one individuals (76.1%) were males, with a mean age of 40±15 years. Both UK-PSC and AOPSC scores were independently associated with graft loss (hazard ratio [HR] 2.43 (p < 0.001) and HR 3.45 (p < 0.001), respectively), but only the UK-PSC score was independently associated with overall mortality (HR 2.63 (p = 0.009)). Individuals with UK-PSC ≥-4.2 (6.1 ± 0.8 vs. 14.7 ± 1.0 years; p = 0.001) and AOPSC ≥2.4 (5.4 ± 1.3 vs. 12.0 ± 1.1 years; p < 0.001) had shorter graft survival.

Conclusion: UK-PSC score at rPSC predicts both graft loss and overall mortality, while AOPSC scores using either age at rPSC or at diagnosis along with severe cholestasis predict graft loss in people with rPSC. These easy-to-administer tools can be utilized in clinical practice to identify high-risk rPSC patients and guide decisions about monitoring/interventions.