Clinical characteristics of immune tolerance in pediatric liver transplantation recipients

Objective To study the clinical characteristics of immune tolerance after liver transplantation in children and to identify possible predictors. Methods The clinical data of 37 pediatric patients who underwent liver transplantation between April 2006 and April 2014 at the Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into the no-drug (n=4), single-drug (n=16) and multi-drug (n=17) groups according to the status of their current immunosuppressant medications. The possible predictive factors were screened based on their clinical data, and statistical analysis was performed. Results The 37 liver transplantation recipients included 16 males (43.2%) and 21 females (56.8%). The factors that differed among the groups included age at transplantation and the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) of the transplant recipients. Age, ALT level, and AST level of the transplant recipients were significantly different between the single-drug group and the multi-drug group (all P<0.05). However, only the ALT level was significantly different (P<0.05) between the no-drug group and the multi-drug group. No significant diffe-rences were found in the various other factors between the no-drug and single-drug groups. Conclusion The age of the recipient at transplantation was a predictive factor affecting clinical immune tolerance in pediatric liver transplantation, while ALT and AST levels were potential predictors of postoperative immune tolerance. Key words: Liver transplantation; Immune tolerance; Children