Epidemiology of Fontan-associated liver disease in Japan : Results from a nationwide survey in 2021

© 2024 The Authors. Hepatology Research published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japan Society of Hepatology..

AIM: Although the Fontan procedure has improved the survival of patients with single-ventricle heart disease, the long-term consequences of the procedure have been a concern. This study aimed to explore the patients' postoperative clinical characteristics, including a diagnosis of Fontan-associated liver disease (FALD).

METHODS: A nationwide Japanese epidemiological survey of post-Fontan patients was undertaken in 2021. The survey targets were selected from all departments of pediatrics, pediatric surgery, cardiology, cardiovascular surgery, and gastroenterology using stratified random sampling by the number of beds. Each department was asked to complete a mail-back questionnaire on the numbers of patients and their clinical characteristics. The diagnosis of FALD was made by each attending physician.

RESULTS: The estimated number of post-Fontan patients was 7810 (95% confidence interval, 5430-10 200) in 2020, with a period prevalence of 61.9 per million. During the follow-up of 13.8 years after the Fontan procedure, 40% of patients were diagnosed with FALD. An elevated γ-glutamyl transpeptidase level was the most common finding leading to the FALD diagnosis (41%), and 45% of the patients also showed liver fibrosis. Compared with non-FALD patients, FALD patients were older, had longer duration since the Fontan procedure, and had more severe cardiac or liver conditions. However, more than half of the non-FALD patients had elevated liver enzyme levels, suggesting underestimation of the number of FALD patients.

CONCLUSIONS: In 2020, approximately 40% of post-Fontan patients underwent follow-up with a diagnosis of FALD, although the lack of established diagnostic criteria for FALD could affect the reported prevalence of FALD.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2024

Erschienen:

2024

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - year:2024

Enthalten in:

Hepatology research : the official journal of the Japan Society of Hepatology - (2024) vom: 25. März

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Ohfuji, Satoko [VerfasserIn]
Tanaka, Atsushi [VerfasserIn]
Kogiso, Tomomi [VerfasserIn]
Kanto, Tatsuya [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Cross‐sectional study
Incidence
Journal Article
Predictor
Prevalence
Prognosis

Anmerkungen:

Date Revised 25.03.2024

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status Publisher

doi:

10.1111/hepr.14040

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM370165330