TY  - JOUR
A1  - Herzer, Kerstin
A1  - Sterneck, Martina
A1  - Welker, Martin-Walter
A1  - Nadalin, Silvio
A1  - Kirchner, Gabriele
A1  - Braun, Felix
A1  - Malessa, Christina
A1  - Herber, Adam
A1  - Pratschke, Johann
A1  - Weiss, Karl Heinz
A1  - Jäckel, Elmar
A1  - Tacke, Frank
T1  - Current challenges in the post-transplant care of liver transplant recipients in Germany
T2  - Journal of Clinical Medicine
N2  - Improving long-term patient and graft survival after liver transplantation (LT) remains a major challenge. Compared to the early phase after LT, long-term morbidity and mortality of the recipients not only depends on complications immediately related to the graft function, infections, or rejection, but also on medical factors such as de novo malignancies, metabolic disorders (e.g., new-onset diabetes, osteoporosis), psychiatric conditions (e.g., anxiety, depression), renal failure, and cardiovascular diseases. While a comprehensive post-transplant care at the LT center and the connected regional networks may improve outcome, there is currently no generally accepted standard to the post-transplant management of LT recipients in Germany. We therefore described the structure and standards of post-LT care by conducting a survey at 12 German LT centers including transplant hepatologists and surgeons. Aftercare structures and form of cost reimbursement considerably varied between LT centers across Germany. Further discussions and studies are required to define optimal structure and content of post-LT care systems, aiming at improving the long-term outcomes of LT recipients.
KW  - liver transplantation
KW  - long-term outcome
KW  - post-liver transplantation management
KW  - liver transplantation center
KW  - aftercare structures
KW  - Germany
Y1  - 2020
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/57401
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-574011
SN  - 2077-0383
VL  - 9
IS  - Article 3570
PB  - MDPI
CY  - Basel
ER  -