Publicação

Referral to Liver Transplant

Detalhes bibliográficos
Resumo:	Introduction: The referral of patients with cirrhosis to liver transplant (LT) is a multi-stage, complex process. There is a lack of data on potential challenges to this process. We aimed to characterize challenges faced by Portuguese referring clinicians. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey from Curry Cabral Hospital, Lisbon, Portugal. The survey was open for 90 days, from August to November 2024. The survey included 13 questions: characterization of participants with 5 questions and characterization of the process of referral to LT with 8 questions. Results: Overall, 56 clinicians responded to the survey (response rate of 46.7%). Their median (IQR) age was 38.1 (33.2–42.1) years. Their level of training was specialist grade for 47 (83.9%) and fellow or intern grade for 9 (16.1%) individuals. The responders were from 21 different hospitals in Portugal; 8 (38.1%) provided tertiary care and 2 (9.5%) were LT centers. Among responders, there was heterogeneity regarding the following topics: referring criteria to LT, liver-related prognostic scores, contact channels with the LT center, tests and visits part of the LT workup. Many of them suggested the following improvements to develop national or regional referral criteria, to expedite communication with the LT team, to accelerate access to the tests or visits part of the LT workup, and to shorten the time to the first appointment with the LT team. Conclusion: Portuguese clinicians identified several challenges and improvements to the referral of patients with cirrhosis to LT. These findings may inform future strategies to streamline the referral to LT.
Autores principais:	Cardoso, Filipe S.
Outros Autores:	Sousa, Mónica; Sousa Cardoso, Filipe; Bagulho, Luís; Mendes, Milena; Sousa, Mónica; Mateus, Élia; Glória, Helena; Lamelas, Jorge; Bicho, Luís; Mateus, Elia; Mega, Raquel; Coelho, João S.; Perdigoto, Rui; Marques, Hugo P.; Perdigoto, Rui; Pinto Marques, Hugo
Assunto:	Access Barriers Liver Obstacles Selection transplantation Gastroenterology
Ano:	2025
País:	Portugal
Tipo de documento:	artigo
Tipo de acesso:	acesso aberto
Instituição associada:	Universidade Nova de Lisboa
Idioma:	inglês
Origem:	Repositório Institucional da UNL

Descrição
Resumo:	Introduction: The referral of patients with cirrhosis to liver transplant (LT) is a multi-stage, complex process. There is a lack of data on potential challenges to this process. We aimed to characterize challenges faced by Portuguese referring clinicians. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey from Curry Cabral Hospital, Lisbon, Portugal. The survey was open for 90 days, from August to November 2024. The survey included 13 questions: characterization of participants with 5 questions and characterization of the process of referral to LT with 8 questions. Results: Overall, 56 clinicians responded to the survey (response rate of 46.7%). Their median (IQR) age was 38.1 (33.2–42.1) years. Their level of training was specialist grade for 47 (83.9%) and fellow or intern grade for 9 (16.1%) individuals. The responders were from 21 different hospitals in Portugal; 8 (38.1%) provided tertiary care and 2 (9.5%) were LT centers. Among responders, there was heterogeneity regarding the following topics: referring criteria to LT, liver-related prognostic scores, contact channels with the LT center, tests and visits part of the LT workup. Many of them suggested the following improvements to develop national or regional referral criteria, to expedite communication with the LT team, to accelerate access to the tests or visits part of the LT workup, and to shorten the time to the first appointment with the LT team. Conclusion: Portuguese clinicians identified several challenges and improvements to the referral of patients with cirrhosis to LT. These findings may inform future strategies to streamline the referral to LT.