Gastroenterology
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Comparative Study
Re-weighting the model for end-stage liver disease score components.
Liver transplant candidates with mild hepatic synthetic dysfunction and marked renal insufficiency may have higher Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores than candidates with severe liver disease and normal renal function. We re-estimated MELD coefficients and evaluated the effect of updated MELD on the liver transplant waiting list ranking. ⋯ Existing MELD coefficient components are significantly different than those calculated from national waiting list data. Updated MELD assigns lower weight to creatinine and international normalized ratio and higher weight to bilirubin. Updated MELD better predicts waiting list mortality. Using updated MELD for liver allocation would alter waiting list candidate ranking.
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Crohn's disease (CD) and sarcoidosis (SA) are chronic inflammatory barrier diseases that share several clinical and immunological features, including the occurrence of granulomas. ⋯ Our study demonstrates that the combined analysis of different, albeit clinically related, phenotypes can lead to the identification of common susceptibility loci.