Inpatient Management of Patients After Liver Transplantation

Liver transplantation is the standard-of-care treatment of patients with irreversible liver disease caused by decompensated cirrhosis or acute liver failure. Liver transplantation is the most effective treatment of selected patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis. Transplant recipients are at an increased risk for opportunistic infections and the risk of infection is related to the level of immunosuppression and severity of liver graft dysfunction. Live vaccines are contraindicated. Complications occurring late after liver transplantation are usually related to consequences of treatment with immunosuppressive medications, underlying medical conditions, or recurrent disease in the transplanted liver graft.