Waitlisted Candidates With Polycystic Liver Disease are More Likely to be Transplanted Than Those With Chronic Liver Failure.

Background: Polycystic liver disease (PCLD) is characterized by cystic replacement of the hepatic parenchyma, leading to hepatic dysfunction, portal hypertension, and hepatomegaly. Patients with liver dysfunction and/or symptomatic disease are eligible for liver transplantation. However, little is known about these patients' waitlist outcomes relative to others with chronic liver disease. Methods: We used OPTN/UNOS data from February 27, 2002 to December 31, 2015 to compare waitlist outcomes of adult patients with PCLD to those with chronic liver failure (CLF) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Results: The study cohort included 620 patients with PCLD, 18 240 patients with HCC, and 98 567 patients with CLF. Compared to CLF patients, PCLD patients had significantly lower bilirubin and INR at waitlisting, and less ascites and encephalopathy. However, they were significantly more likely to have severe chronic kidney disease. Moreover, patients with PCLD were more than 70% more likely to be transplanted compared to patients with CLF (OR: 1.72, 95% CI: 1.46-2.02) and had significantly longer posttransplant survival (p

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