MELD and PELD Scores: Predict Models for the Survival in Patients with End-Stage Liver Disease

The liver is the largest essential internal organ of the body. At present, liver disease has become a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and patients with advanced liver disease may die within months to years. The model of end-stage liver disease (MELD) is an objective measure incorporating three quantitative values, such as serum creatinine, international normalized ratio (INR), and serum bilirubin that is used to prioritize and allocate adult patients of minimum age 12 years, with liver cirrhosis waiting for a liver transplantation (LT). The five factors are used in the pediatric end-stage liver disease (PELD) score, such as serum albumin, patient’s age at listing, international normalization ratio (INR), total bilirubin, and growth failure, whose age is less than 12 years. At present the PELD score is successfully applied as a strong predictor of death on the waiting list in pediatric LT hospitals. The PELD score and the MELD score have been used as predictors of mortality among the listed liver failure patients that have only option of LT for survival. Both models provide more accurate measures of liver disease severity and predict that the patients are at risk of dying on the waiting list of LT.