Liver transplantation is a highly effective treatment for end-stage liver disease. However, there is debate over the practice of liver transplantation in older recipients (age = 60 years) given the relative shortage of donor grafts, worse post-transplantation survival, and concern that that older patients may utilize excess resources postoperatively, thus threatening the economic feasibility of the procedure.
To determine if patients = 60 years of age utilize more health resources following liver transplantation compared with younger patients.
Consecutive adult patients who underwent primary liver transplantation (n = 208) at a single center were studied over a 2.5-year period. Data were collected on clinico-demographic characteristics and resource utilization. Descriptive statistics, including means, standard deviations, or frequencies were obtained for baseline variables. Patients were stratified into 2 groups: age = 60 years (n = 51) and