Text-Messaging Can Help Liver-Transplant Candidates Maintain Sobriety
Research Society on AlcoholismEach year in the U.S., more than 40,000 patients need a liver transplant because of complications associated with cirrhosis and liver failure. Alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) alone accounts for nearly 30 percent of all liver transplants, yet up to 50 percent of patients with alcoholism return to drinking within five years of undergoing a liver transplant. Many transplant centers now require a minimum of six months of alcohol abstinence prior to placing candidates on the United Organ Network Sharing waiting list. This pilot study examined the use of text messaging as an alcohol relapse-prevention intervention for patients with ALD scheduled to undergo a liver transplant.