Renal failure and dialysis therapy in children with hepatic failure in the perioperative period of orthotopic liver transplantation.

Severe renal failure (GFR less than or equal to 20 ml/min/1.73 m2) complicated the clinical course in 27 of 146 children (18.5%) admitted for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) was the cause of renal failure in 12 of 15 patients in whom renal failure preceded OLT while acute tubular necrosis, pre-renal factors and cyclosporine nephrotoxicity were the major causes of renal failure post-OLT. Eight patients died from hemorrhage, infection or other complications of hepatic failure before OLT could be performed. Survival in the remaining 19 patients undergoing OLT was significantly lower compared to 114 patients with OLT and no renal failure (53% vs 81%, p less than 0.025). Dialysis therapy in 13 of the 27 patients with renal failure (10 hemodialysis and 3 peritoneal dialysis) was frequently complicated by severe gastrointestinal hemorrhage and hypotension, and directly contributed to the death of two patients prior to OLT. Among the 19 patients with renal failure who were actually transplanted, the survival rate was similar whether dialysis was used or not (5/10 vs 5/9) even though the mean GFR was significantly lower in dialyzed patients (p less than 0.05). However, although small patient numbers precluded meaningful statistical analysis, dialysis appeared to be beneficial for the subgroup of 12 patients with HRS, 4 of whom had complete recovery of renal function after successful OLT. We conclude that, renal failure is common in children with advanced liver failure; dialysis in such patients may increase morbidity and does not improve overall mortality; and dialysis support may improve survival in the subgroup of patients with HRS.