Alcohol use following liver transplantation - A comparison of follow-up methods

Alcoholic cirrhosis is one of the most common indications for liver transpl antation Previous re searchers have studied rates of return to drinking fol lowing transplantation, however; few have employed prospective measures of alcohol use. The authors prospectively studied the alcohol Else of patients transplanted for alcoholic fiver disease. The authors improved the accurac y of monitoring alcohol use by using various methods for tracking patient's alcohol consumption, and we report on the time to first alcohol use after transplantation comparing these different methods. The authors found that a lcohol use can occur very early after transplantation evert within the firs t 3 months posttransplant. Thirty-eight percent of the patients consumed ar ty alcohol after transplantation. The clinical interviews by the psychiatri st were the most successful method for identifying posttransplant alcohol u se. Posttransplant alcohol use was significantly associated with prior nona lcohol substance use (P<0.025), family history of alcoholism in a first-deg ree relative (P<0.025), and prior alcohol rehabilitation experience (P<0.05 ) bur not with a prior psychiatric history or less than 6 months of pretran splant sobriety. The authors indicate that prospective monitoring, using a combination of methods, is the most accurate approach to identify alcohol c onsumption. With this type of accuracy, risk factors can be identified and alcohol Else can be compared with alcohol-related morbidity posttransplant.