November 2, 2011
School of Medicine, Kochi
Dr. Suhas Kalghatgi, postgraduate trainee at the Amrita School of Medicine, won the best paper award at the National Conference of the Indian Association of Surgical Gastroenterology recently organized in Jaipur.
The award was conferred on his paper titled Postoperative bilirubin on day 14, as a predictor of early mortality after liver transplantation.
Dr. Suhas was given a cash prize of Rs. 5000 and a citation.
“Liver transplantation is a complex endeavour,” he stated. “In past years, we have gained considerable experience with living-donor liver transplants in Amrita.”
A pigment in the bile produced by the liver, postoperative serum bilirubin can help predict early mortality in patients undergoing liver transplants. The award-winning paper studied this phenomenon.
“The presence of high postoperative serum bilirubin is a marker of poor graft function. It is often considered as an independent risk factor for mortality after liver transplantation,” explained Dr. Suhas.
Research was performed by analyzing clinical data of 97 patients who underwent liver transplants at Amrita between 2004 and 2011. The total bilirubin levels on postoperative days 1, 3, 7 and 14 were correlated with incidence of mortality within three months of the procedure.
There was a statistically significant correlation between the bilirubin level on the 14th postoperative day and mortality within three months. Results revealed that a bilirubin level of 20mg/dl or above on that day could predict mortality with 90% specificity.
“Such a correlation can help us identify the at-risk patients early,” underlined the author. “This can help us prevent mortality by subjecting them to more aggressive treatment or re-transplantation.”
Dr. Suhas joined Amrita in 2010. He is currently pursuing his MCh degree in Gastrointestinal Surgery.
“Amrita has put in a lot of effort for fostering a good environment for research environment,” the scholar noted. “The amount of clinical data available here makes it easy to pursue meaningful research. I would like to express my gratitude to the entire gastrointestinal surgery team, whose support and guidance have made this study possible.”
The Amrita fraternity congratulates him on his achievement!
