Risk of Respiratory Complications in Obese Liver Transplant Patients: A Study of 343 Patients

Abstract Introduction Obesity is a risk factor that increases the number of complications after orthotopic liver transplantation (LT). We sought to analyze the short-term respiratory complications in obese LT recipients and compare them with a control group of nonobese patients. Material and Methods A retrospective analysis of LT patients in a hospital in the southeast of Spain (2007–2013), selecting the study cases using a body mass index (BMI) of >30 kg/m 2 and a control group (BMI  Results Of the 343 LT recipients, 74 were obese (21.6%): 59 patients had a BMI between 30 and 35 (grade I obesity) and among them, 5% presented with respiratory complications, with a 33% mortality rate. Fifteen patients had a BMI of >35 (obesity grade II), and 20% presented with respiratory complications, with a 33% mortality rate. In the control group (n = 30), 17% experienced respiratory complications and there was a 20% mortality rate. There were no differences in respiratory complications between the obese and nonobese groups, or the different kinds of obesity ( P  > .05). Conclusions There were no differences in short-term respiratory complications between obese LT recipients and those with a normal weight.