Liver transplantation for patients with hepatitis B-related liver disease: a single center experience

Background: Liver Transplantation (LT) is the only effective therapy for end-stage liver disease due to Hepatitis B (HBV). Before introduction of passive immunoprophylaxis with hepatitis B immunoglobulin (HBIg) and new antiviral nucleoside analogues hepatitis B recurrence was seen in the majority of the patients, resulting in an inferior graft survival. In this study we analyzed the different clinical courses of HBV recurrence, the impact of HBV recurrence on patient survival and potentially contributing factors for long term outcome of HBV patients after LT. Patients and methods: Between 03/1983 and 09/2003 57…