Beyond the NIH Multicenter HIV Transplant Trial Experience: Outcomes of HIV+ Liver Transplant Recipients Compared to HCV+ or HIV+/HCV+ Coinfected Recipients in the United States.

BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of liver transplant (LT) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfected recipients in the United States is unknown. We investigated (i) the effect of HIV on US patient and allograft LT outcomes, compared to HCV+ and HIV/HCV uninfected recipients and (ii) whether LT at centers that participated in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Solid Organ Transplantation in HIV Trial, reflecting experience and a standardized approach to patient selection, impacted outcomes.

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of primary LT recipients transplanted 27 February 2002 through 31 December 2013, categorized by serostatus: HCV+ (n = 20 829), HIV+ (n = 72), HIV+/HCV+ (n = 160), and HIV-/HCV- uninfected (n = 22 926) as reference. Survival was determined using Cox regression, stratified according to center NIH trial participation.

RESULTS: HCV (hazard ratio [HR] 1.46, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.41-1.52) and HIV/HCV coinfection (HR 2.62, 95% CI, 2.06-3.33) were associated with mortality; HIV monoinfection was not (HR 1.37, 95% CI, .86-2.18). This was unchanged after stratification on NIH trial participation, although mortality was higher in NIH-enrolling (HIV+: HR 1.65, 95% CI, .93-2.92; HIV+/HCV+: HR 3.15, 95% CI, 2.32-4.28) than in non-enrolling centers (HIV+: HR 1.03, 95% CI, .43-2.47, HIV+/HCV+: HR 2.55, 95% CI, 1.64-3.96). Although allograft loss was higher in HIV/HCV coinfected recipients transplanted at enrolling (HR 2.64, 9%% CI, 1.91-3.64) vs nonenrolling centers (HR 2.22, 95% CI, 1.41-3.49), there was no difference in HIV and HCV monoinfected patients.

CONCLUSIONS: HIV+ LT recipient outcomes were superior to HCV+ or HIV/HCV coinfected recipients. Despite a standardized approach and plausibly more experience with HIV patients, transplantation at NIH study center did not improve outcomes.