Raw Data for the article: Neurological Screening in Elderly Liver Transplantation Candidates: A Single Center

<strong>Background: </strong>Cerebral small vessels disease (cSVD) is an age-related disorder and risk factor for stroke and cognitive/motor impairments. Neurological complications (NCs) are among the causes of adverse outcomes in older liver transplant recipients. This study sought to determine whether cSVD predicts acute NCs in over 65-year-old liver transplant patients. <strong>Methods: </strong>Data were collected, from a retrospective medical chart review, of 22 deceased donor liver transplant recipients aged 65 years or older with a pre-operative brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We used the Fazekas score (0-3) as a quantitative measurement of the vascular lesion load seen in the MRI. We analyzed all post-operative acute NCs occurring during the hospital stay and any other non-NC. <strong>Results: </strong>cSVD was recognized in all patients. Neurological complications (NCs) occurred in 18.1% of patients with toxic-metabolic encephalopathy the most frequent diagnosis (13.64%). More severe cSVD was associated with seizures (<em>p</em> = 0.0362), longer hospital stay (<em>p</em> 0.0299), and disability (<em>p</em> 0.0134). In our elderly cohort, hepatic encephalopathy (HE) (<em>p</em> 0.0287) and ascites (<em>p</em> 0.0270) were predictors of NCs after liver transplantation. Ascites and/or variceal bleeding and severity of liver disease were associated with adverse post-operative outcomes. The small sample size limited the statistical analysis power. <strong>Conclusions: </strong>We present the preliminary data of a single-center retrospective study aimed at understanding the cSVD role on NCs and non-NCs after a liver transplantation in elderly patients. This would encourage a more appropriate multicenter prospective study that will definitely confirm if a neurological screening in old age liver transplant candidates is appropriate.