A clinical expectation after liver transplant (LT) is improved nutritional status. This, however, has not been quantified. The goals of this study are to: 1) quantify nutritional status in patients with end-stage liver disease before LT and at 6 and 12 months after liver transplant, 2) identify changes in nutritional status that occur from before LT to 6 and 12 months after LT, and 3) determine if LT recipients have nutritional changes that may place them at greater risk for cardiovascular disease. The specific research questions which this study will address are: 1. What is the distribution of the following nutritional status indicators before LT and at 6 and 12 months after LT; a) body weight, b) percent body weight change, c) body mass index, d) anthropometric measurements (skinfold, mid-upper-arm and mid-upper-arm muscle circumference, waist-hip circumference ration) for estimation of body fat and lean body mass, e) creatinine-height index for estimation of lean body mass, f) serum lipid profile, and g) visceral protein (serum levels of albumin, pre-albumin, transferrin)? 2. What is the distribution of the following indicators of cardiac function before LT and at 6 and 12 months after LT: a) left ventricular ejection fraction, and b) cardiac index? 3. What is the correlation between body weight and: a) body fat, b) body mass index, c) lean body mass, d) serum lipid profile, e) visceral protein status, and f) cardiac function? 4. What is the correlation between body fat and a) body mass index, b) serum lipids, c) visceral protein status, and d) cardiac function? 5. What is the correlation between serum lipid profile and cardiac function?
| Smith, S L (1996) Risk factors for premature coronary heart disease after successful liver transplantation in adults. J Transpl Coord 6:178-85 |
