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World J Gastroenterol. Apr 7, 2018; 24(13): 1386-1397
Published online Apr 7, 2018. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v24.i13.1386
Thrombocytopenia after liver transplantation: Should we care?
Kazuhiro Takahashi, Shunji Nagai, Mohamed Safwan, Chen Liang, Nobuhiro Ohkohchi
Kazuhiro Takahashi, Chen Liang, Nobuhiro Ohkohchi, Department of Surgery, Division of Gastroenterological and Hepatobiliary Surgery, and Organ Transplantation, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 3058575, Japan
Shunji Nagai, Mohamed Safwan, Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, ML 48202, United States
Author contributions: Takahashi K, Nagai S, Safwan M, Liang C and Ohkohchi N contributed equally to this work; Takahashi K wrote the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There is no conflict of interest associated with any of the senior author or other coauthors contributed their efforts in this manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Nobuhiro Ohkohchi, MD, PhD, Department of Surgery, Division of Gastroenterological and Hepatobiliary Surgery, and Organ Transplantation, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennoudai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan. nokochi3@md.tsukuba.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-29-8533221 Fax: +81-29-8533222
Received: January 30, 2018
Peer-review started: January 31, 2018
First decision: February 11, 2018
Revised: March 6, 2018
Accepted: March 18, 2018
Article in press: March 18, 2018
Published online: April 7, 2018
Processing time: 63 Days and 23.4 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Transient thrombocytopenia is commonly seen after liver transplantation, and many studies have demonstrated that perioperative thrombocytopenia is associated with deterioration of the graft and decreased patient survival after liver transplantation. The role of platelets in liver transplantation has recently been highlighted, and particular attention has been given to their effects beyond hemostasis and thrombosis. Platelet therapies that increase platelet count, such as thrombopoietin, thrombopoietin receptor agonist, platelet transfusion, splenectomy, and intravenous immunoglobulin treatment, have a potential role for improving graft survival; however, clinical trials are still lacking, and further studies are warranted.