Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is an independent risk factor for chronic kidney injury (CKI), yet the impact of liver transplantation (LT) on renal function in this at-risk group is not known. We compared the post-LT renal function of patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and a matched comparison group. Forty-eight consecutive patients who underwent transplantation for NASH between 2000 and 2008 in a single UK center were compared to non-NASH patients who were matched by age, sex, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR; calculated with the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease formula). In comparison with non-NASH patients, NASH patients had a significantly lower eGFR 3 months after LT (eGFR difference = 8.85 mL/minute/1.73 m(2), 95% confidence interval = 2.93-14.77). After adjustments for the effects of the body mass index, tacrolimus levels, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and hepatocellular carcinoma, the difference between the groups remained significant 3 months after LT (P = 0.001). These data were then analyzed at numerous time points after LT (6, 12, and 24 months), and the time did not significantly affect the difference between the groups (P = 0.17). Within 2 years, 31.2% of the NASH patients (15/48) had developed stage IIIb CKI, whereas only 8.3% of the non-NASH patients (4/48) did (P = 0.009). In conclusion, this study has identified NASH as an independent risk factor for renal dysfunction after LT. Renal-sparing immunosuppression regimens should be considered at the time of LT to reduce the development of kidney injury in NASH patients. The optimization of such regimens requires a prospective study.
Copyright © 2011 American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.