Abstract
Purpose: A real-time risk model of postoperative mortality and morbidity for liver transplants was previously developed using the Japanese national clinical database and registry of the Japanese liver transplant society. This study aims to investigate the prediction property of the risk model and its impact on transplantation planning and utility for informed consent and educational information. Materials and Methods: We conducted an anonymous questionnaire survey targeting transplant physicians, nurses, and coordinators at all liver transplantation facilities in Japan. Result: The response rate of facilities was 30.6%, comprising of 64 transplant surgeons, 5 nurses, and 10 coordinators. Regarding prediction property, 65.6% of surgeons responded with “agree” in the questionnaire, whereas 28.1% responded with “neither agree nor disagree.” Additionally, the proportion of surgeons who agreed that the prediction of the real-time risk model could influence graft selection, transplant indication, and postoperative managements was 63%, 45%, and 42%, respectively, indicating dominant responses. Almost 60% of transplant surgeons and 100% of nurses and coordinators agreed that predicting postoperative mortality and morbidity using the real-time risk model could have some benefits in obtaining informed consent or education for students and young residents. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the property of predicting postoperative mortality and morbidity using the real-time risk model was agreed by most liver transplant surgeons and that prediction using the risk models could be used for multiple purposes, such as planning optimal liver transplantation, informed consent procedure, and education for students or young residents.
