Utility of Oral Anticoagulants as Prophylaxis of Recurrent Portal Thrombosis after Liver Transplantation

Introduction: Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is a relatively common finding in patients undergoing liver transplantation. Although the recommendation to prevent its recurrence is anticoagulation for a duration of 3 to 6 months, this is controversial.

Aim: The aim of our study was to determine the efficacy of oral anticoagulants (OAC) as prophylaxis for recurrent PVT after liver transplantation.

Materials and methods: Our study included 215 liver transplant patients who underwent surgery in our center from January 2012 to August 2017. We selected all patients diagnosed with PVT either pre-transplantation (using Doppler echography or Angio-CT) or during transplant surgery. All patients with PVT were initially anticoagulated with low-molecular-weight heparin in the postoperative period; at discharge they received OAC for a duration of six months. Control Doppler ultrasound was performed at 3, 6, and 12 months post-transplantation.

Results: PVT was identified in 37 out of 215 patients (17.2%). PVT was diagnosed with a pre-transplant vascular study in 17 out of 37 cases (45.9%). All patients were anticoagulated with OAC (warfarin) for at least 6 months. There were no cases of recurrent thrombosis and no complications associated with anticoagulant treatment throughout the follow-up period.

Conclusions: The prevalence of portal thrombosis in liver transplant patients in our study was fairly high, at 17.2%. PVT was identified in nearly 50% of patients using high-quality vascular studies prior to transplant surgery. Anticoagulation with OAC for 6 months was effective in preventing a recurrence of thrombosis and there were no associated complications.