SummaryBackgroundSurgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common infections associated with health care, but its importance as a global health priority is not fully understood. We quantified the burden of SSI after gastrointestinal surgery in countries in all parts of the world.MethodsThis international, prospective, multicentre cohort study included consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection within 2-week time periods at any health-care facility in any country. Countries with participating centres were stratified into high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups according to the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). Data variables from the GlobalSurg 1 study and other studies that have been found to affect the likelihood of SSI were entered into risk adjustment models. The primary outcome measure was the 30-day SSI incidence (defined by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for superficial and deep incisional SSI). Relationships with explanatory variables were examined using Bayesian multilevel logistic regression models. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02662231.FindingsBetween Jan 4, 2016, and July 31, 2016, 13 265 records were submitted for analysis. 12 539 patients from 343 hospitals in 66 countries were included. 7339 (58·5%) patient were from high-HDI countries (193 hospitals in 30 countries), 3918 (31·2%) patients were from middle-HDI countries (82 hospitals in 18 countries), and 1282 (10·2%) patients were from low-HDI countries (68 hospitals in 18 countries). In total, 1538 (12·3%) patients had SSI within 30 days of surgery. The incidence of SSI varied between countries with high (691 [9·4%] of 7339 patients), middle (549 [14·0%] of 3918 patients), and low (298 [23·2%] of 1282) HDI (p<0·001). The highest SSI incidence in each HDI group was after dirty surgery (102 [17·8%] of 574 patients in high-HDI countries; 74 [31·4%] of 236 patients in middle-HDI countries; 72 [39·8%] of 181 patients in low-HDI countries). Following risk factor adjustment, patients in low-HDI countries were at greatest risk of SSI (adjusted odds ratio 1·60, 95% credible interval 1·05–2·37; p=0·030). 132 (21·6%) of 610 patients with an SSI and a microbiology culture result had an infection that was resistant to the prophylactic antibiotic used. Resistant infections were detected in 49 (16·6%) of 295 patients in high-HDI countries, in 37 (19·8%) of 187 patients in middle-HDI countries, and in 46 (35·9%) of 128 patients in low-HDI countries (p<0·001).InterpretationCountries with a low HDI carry a disproportionately greater burden of SSI than countries with a middle or high HDI and might have higher rates of antibiotic resistance. In view of WHO recommendations on SSI prevention that highlight the absence of high-quality interventional research, urgent, pragmatic, randomised trials based in LMICs are needed to assess measures aiming to reduce this preventable complication.FundingDFID-MRC-Wellcome Trust Joint Global Health Trial Development Grant,...

Donation after circulatory death (DCD) liver allografts are increasingly used for transplantation. However, the posttransplantation clinical and quality of life outcomes of DCD recipients are traditionally considered to be inferior compared with donation after brain death (DBD) allograft recipients. Decision making for such marginal organs can be difficult. This study investigated the optimal decision to accept or decline a DCD liver allograft for a patient based on their current health. A Markov decision process model was constructed to predict the 5-year clinical course of patients on the liver transplant waiting list. Clinical outcomes were determined from the UK transplant registry or appropriate literature. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were determined using the condition-specific short form of liver disease quality of life (SF-LDQoL) questionnaire. There were 293/374 (78.3%) eligible patients who completed the SF-LDQoL questionnaire. A total of 73 respondents (24.9%) were before transplant and 220 were after transplant (DBD recipient, 56.3%; DCD recipient, 8.5%; ischemic cholangiopathy patient, 2.4%; retransplant recipient, 7.9%). Predictive modeling indicated that QALYs gained at 5 years were significantly higher in DCD recipients (3.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.44-4.10) compared with those who remained on the waiting list for a DBD transplant with Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores of 15-20 (3.36; 95% CI, 3.28-3.43), or >20 (3.07; 95% CI, 3.00-3.14). There was no significant advantage for individuals with MELD scores <15 (3.55; 95% CI, 3.47-3.63). In conclusion, this model predicts that patients on the UK liver transplant waiting list with MELD scores >15 should receive an offered DCD allograft based on the QALYs gained at 5 years. This analysis only accounts for donor-recipient risk pairings seen in current practice. The optimal decision for patients with MELD scores <15 remains unclear. However, a survival benefit was observed when a DCD organ was accepted. Liver Transplantation 23 594-603 2017 AASLD.

It is unclear whether liver transplantation confers an increase in healthrelated quality of life (HR-QoL) across all dimensions of health. This study aimed to estimate the effect of liver transplantation on HR-QoL. Pre-and post-transplantation patients attending an outpatient clinic were invited to complete the condition-specific 'Short form of liver disease QOL' questionnaire. Mixed-effect linear regression and propensity-score matching (PSM) on pretransplantation characteristics were used to estimate the difference in overall HR-QoL associated with transplantation. Of 454/609 (74.5%) eligible patients who were included in the analysis, 102 (22.5%) patients fall under pretransplantation category, and 352 (77.5%) were under post-transplantation category. Overall HR-QoL post-transplantation significantly increased in patients without hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (b = 16.84, 95% CI: 13.33 to 20.35, P < 0.001), but not with HCC (b = 1.25, 95% CI: À5.09 to 7.60, P = 0.704). Donation after circulatory death (DCD) organ recipients had a significantly lower HR-QoL (b = À4.61, 95% CI: À8.95 to À0.24, P = 0.043). Following PSM, transplantation was associated with a significant increase in overall HR-QoL (average treatment effect: 6.3, 95%