Effect of case volume on mortality after pediatric liver transplantation in Korea

Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether institutional case volume affects clinical outcomes after pediatric liver transplantation. Methods: We conducted a nationwide retrospective cohort study using the database of Korean National Healthcare Insurance Service. Between January 2007 and December 2016, 521 pediatric liver transplantations were performed at 22 centers in Korea. Centers were categorized according to the average annual number of liver transplantations: >10, 1-10, and 10 pediatric liver transplantations/year) had better outcomes after pediatric liver transplantation, including in-hospital mortality and long-term mortality, compared to centers with lower case volume (≤10 liver transplantations/year). Hannah Lee and Eun Jin Jang equally contributed to this work and are co-first authors. Corresponding author: Ho Geol Ryu, M.D. Ph.D. Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Daehak-ro 101, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea, Tel: +82-2-2072-2065, Fax: +82-2-747-5639, E-mail: hogeol@gmail.com Authorship H.G.R., E.J.J. and H.L. designed the study. H.L., E.J.J. and H.G.R wrote the article. E.J.J., G.H.K. and D.H.K. analyzed the data. S.Y., H.S.R., C.W.J. and S.Y.O. participated in the performance of the research. C.W.J. and H.S.R. collected the data. N.J.Y. and S.Y.O. provided feedback and suggestions. Funding None. Conflicts of Interest None declared. Copyright © 2018 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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