Survival Rate of Liver Transplantation in Asia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Liver transplantation is one of the most effective treatments for acute liver failure, chronic liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. This study was implemented to evaluate the survival rate of liver transplant in Asia. METHODS: Studies that investigated the survival rate of liver transplant were selected using a systematic search strategy in the following databases: Medline, Embase, Scopus, ProQuest, ISI Web of Science, and Cochrane to Nov 30th, 2020. Pooled survival rate and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using Der-Simonian and Laird method. Stata 16.0 (Stata Corp, College Station, TX, USA) was used for analysis. RESULTS: One, 2, 3, 5, and 10-year survival rates of liver transplant were estimated to be 85%, 80%, 75%, 73%, and 71%, respectively. The results of the univariate meta-regression for defining the sources of heterogeneity for one-Year survival rate (SR) showed significant effects of bias (β (high risk/moderate risk) =0.059, 95% CI: 0.002, 0.115, P-Value=0.04) and follow up time (β= −0.0002, 95% CI: −0.0003, −0.00, P-Value=0.02) on heterogeneity. CONCLUSION: The survival rate of liver transplant in Asia is comparable with the corresponding rate reported in the United States and Europe. This study provides a better view of the efficiency of medical cares, regarding liver transplantation. Medical care be enhanced to increase the survival of liver transplant patients.