The Comparison of the Perioperative Changes in Lactate and Prothrombin Time Between Deceased Versus Living Donor Liver Transplantation

Dual Lactate Clearance in the Viability Assessment of Livers Donated After Circulatory Death With Ex Situ Normothermic Machine Perfusion

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Perfusate lactate clearance (LC) is considered one of the useful indicators of liver viability assessment during normothermic machine perfusion (NMP); however, the applicable scope and potential mechanisms of LC remain poorly defined in the setting of liver donation after circulatory death.

Arterial Lactate Concentration at the End of Liver Transplantation Is an Early Predictor of Primary Graft Dysfunction

BACKGROUND

Although many prognostic factors of primary graft dysfunction after liver transplantation (LT) are available, it remains difficult to predict failure in a given recipient.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to determine whether the intraoperative assay of arterial lactate concentration at the end of LT (LCEOT) might constitute a reliable biological test to predict early outcomes [primary nonfunction (PNF), early graft dysfunction (EAD)].

METHODS

We reviewed data from a prospective database in a single center concerning patients transplanted between January 2015 and December 2016 (n = 296).

RESULTS

There was no statistical imbalance between the training (year 2015) and validation groups (year 2016) for epidemiological and perioperative feature. Ten patients (3.4%) presented with PNF, and EAD occurred in 62 patients (20.9%); 9 patients died before postoperative day (POD) 90. LCEOT ≥5 mmol/L was the best cut-off point to predict PNF (Se=83.3%, SP=74.3%, positive likelihood ratio (LR+)=3.65, negative likelihood ratio (LR-)=0.25, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR)=14.44) and was predictive of PNF (P = 0.02), EAD (P = 0.05), and death ≤ POD90 (P = 0.06). Added to the validated BAR-score, LCEOT improved its predictive value regarding POD 90 survival with a better AUC (0.87) than BAR score (0.74). The predictive value of LCEOT was confirmed in the validation cohort.

CONCLUSION

As a reflection of both hypoperfusion and tissue damage, the assay of arterial LCEOT ≥5 mmol/L appears to be a strong predictor of early graft outcomes and may be used as an endpoint in studies assessing the impact of perioperative management. Its accessibility and low cost could impose it as a reliable parameter to anticipate postoperative management and help clinicians for decision-making in the first PODs.

Clinical significance of lactate clearance for the development of early allograft dysfunction and short-term prognosis in deceased donor liver transplantation

This retrospective study evaluated lactate clearance (LC), measured at 6, 12, 18, and 24 hours after reperfusion, as a predictor of early allograft dysfunction (EAD) and short-term outcomes in patients receiving deceased donor liver transplantation. Of 181 transplant recipients, 44 (24.3%) developed EAD and had lower LCs than those who did not develop EAD. A receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that LC determined at 6 hours showed the highest area under curve value of 0.828 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.755-0.990) for predicting the development of EAD at a cutoff value of 25.8% with 76.7% sensitivity and 77.9% specificity. LC values that fell below the cutoff values were significantly associated with EAD in a multivariate analysis, with values at 6 hours having the highest adjusted odds ratio (11.891, 95% CI: 4.469-31.639). In-hospital and 6 month mortalities were higher in patients with LC values below the cutoffs compared with those above the cutoff values at each time point. Thus, LC calculated shortly after reperfusion of an allograft is significantly discriminative for the development of EAD and is associated with short-term prognosis after deceased donor liver transplantation.

Low Platelet Counts and Prolonged Prothrombin Time Early After Operation Predict the 90 Days Morbidity and Mortality in Living-donor Liver Transplantation

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study was to investigate the association between platelet count/prothrombin time early after transplant and short-term outcomes among living-donor liver transplant (LDLT) recipients.

BACKGROUND

Postoperative platelet count and prothrombin time-international normalized ratio (PT-INR) were critical biomarkers in LDLT.

METHODS

The study participants consisted of 445 initial LDLT recipients, and perioperative variables, including platelet count and PT-INR, were assessed for their association with severe complications (Clavien-Dindo classification grade IIIb/IV) and mortality within 90 days after operation.

RESULTS

Severe complications and operative mortality occurred in 161 (36%) and 23 patients (5%), respectively. Cox regression analysis revealed that a high body mass index [hazard ratio (HR) 1.2; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.1-1.4; P = 0.004] and low platelet count on postoperative day (POD)3 (HR 0.88; 95% CI, 0.57-0.97; P < 0.001) were independent predictors for grade IIIb/IV complications after LDLT, whereas high PT-INR on POD5 (HR 1.1; 95% CI, 1.1-1.3; P = 0.021) was the only independent factor for operative mortality. In addtion, the progonostic scoring with low platelet count (<50 × 10/L) and prolonged prothrombin time (PT-INR >1.6) within POD5, 1 point for each, was demonstrated to be useful in predicting the development of Clavien-Dindo grade IIIb/IV/V complications after LDLT (30% for score 0, 46% for score 1, and 72% for score 2: 0 vs 1, P = 0.004; 0 vs 2, P < 0.001; 1 vs 2, P = 0.002).

CONCLUSIONS

PT-INR above 1.6 and platelet count below 50 × 10/L within POD5 were useful predictors of mortality and severe complications after LDLT.

A new formula as a predictive score of post-liver transplantation outcome: postoperative MELD-lactate

INTRODUCTION

Liver transplantation (OLT) involves a 5% to 10% 30-day mortality rate. Multiple scores have been used as predictors of early postoperative mortality, such as the original Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) and MELD sodium. Investigations have been conducted over the last 5 years to find new predictors of early post-OLT mortality.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to develop a new mathematical model to predict the individual chance of 30-day mortality after OLT.

METHODS

The study was conducted on 58 patients submitted to OLT at the University Hospital, between October 2008 and March 2012. The 29 latest survivor and 29 latest nonsurvivor cases were selected. Arterial blood sodium, lactate, international normalized ratio, total bilirubin, and creatinine values were determined 1 hour after the end of surgery. The MELD original equation, MELD sodium, and new MELD lactate were also elaborated. The results were analyzed by the Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests. The level of significance was set at .05.

RESULTS

The new formula elaborated was as follows: MELD lactate = 5.68 × loge (lactate) + 0.64 × (Original MELD) + 2.68. The MELD lactate values were significantly higher than the MELD sodium and original MELD values (P < .05). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of MELD lactate in predicting the outcome of patients submitted to OLT was 0.80, as opposed to 0.71 for the original MELD and 0.72 for MELD sodium (P < .05).

CONCLUSION

The postoperative MELD lactate score proved to be more specific and sensitive than the original MELD and MELD sodium as a predictive model of the outcome of patients submitted to OLT.

Analysis of predictors for lactate elimination after reperfusion in recipients of living-donor liver transplantation

BACKGROUND

Graft-recipient weight ratio (GRWR) is the only documented predictor that influences the lactate elimination after reperfusion in living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT). This study was performed to investigate the predictors of lactate elimination after reperfusion in recipients of adult LDLT.

METHODS

The medical records of 159 patients who underwent LDLT were analyzed. Lactate level (mmol/L) was measured from just before the initiation of surgery (P0) and 5, 60, and 120 minutes after reperfusion of graft (R0, R1, and R2, respectively). The change of lactate level after reperfusion was defined as difference between lactate level measured at R0 and R2. Patients were divided into accumulation and elimination groups. Donor and recipient factors were compared between the 2 groups.

RESULTS

Lactate accumulation occurred in 80 of 159 recipients (50.3%), and elimination occurred in 79 (49.7%). GRWR and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score were higher in the elimination group. Lactate at R0 was lower in the elimination group.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher GRWR and MELD score and lower lactate level immediate after reperfusion of graft were predictors of lactate elimination after reperfusion during adult LDLT.

Operative outcomes of adult living donor liver transplantation and deceased donor liver transplantation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has emerged as an alternative to deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) because of the increasing number of patients waiting for liver transplantation (LT). However, whether it can achieve operative outcomes similar to those achieved with DDLT for adult patients remains controversial. We conducted this meta-analysis to compare the operative outcomes of LDLT and DDLT recipients. A literature search was performed to identify clinical controlled studies comparing LDLT and DDLT that were published before October 2013. Four perioperative outcomes [duration of the recipient operation (DRO), red blood cell (RBC) transfusion requirement, length of the hospital stay, and cold ischemia time (CIT)] and 5 postoperative complication outcomes (biliary complications, vascular complications, intra-abdominal bleeding, perioperative death, and retransplantation) were the main outcomes assessed. Nineteen studies with a total of 5450 patients were included in the meta-analysis. In comparison with DDLT, LDLT was associated with a significantly longer DRO and a shorter CIT. We found that biliary complications [odds ratio (OR) = 3.08, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.97-4.81, P < 0.001], vascular complications (OR = 2.16, 95% CI = 1.32-3.54, P = 0.002), and retransplantation (OR = 1.76, 95% CI = 1.09-2.83, P = 0.02) occurred more frequently for LDLT recipients, and the subgroup analysis indicated that the biliary complication rate decreased dramatically with greater LDLT experience. No significant difference was observed in RBC transfusion requirements, the lengths of hospital stays, intra-abdominal bleeding rates, or perioperative mortality between LDLT and DDLT recipients. In conclusion, LDLT is associated with a higher rate of surgical complications after transplantation. A reduction of postoperative complication rates can be achieved as centers gain greater experience with LDLT. However, LDLT is still an excellent alternative to DDLT because it facilitates access to LT.

Can joint analysis of postoperative MELD, base excess and blood lactate levels be used as an index of postoperative outcome for patients submitted to liver transplantation?

PURPOSE: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the postoperative levels of classical or pure MELD and changes in lactate or base excess (BE) levels as possible predictive factors of the type of outcome of patients submitted to orthotopic liver trasplantation (OLT). METHODS: The study was conducted on 60 patients submitted to OLT at the University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, USP, between October 2008 and March 2012. The 30 latest survivor (S) and non-survivor (NS) cases were selected. All liver transplants were performed using the piggy-back technique. ALT, AST, BE and blood lactate values were determined for each group at five time points (immediate preoperative period, end of hypothermal ischemia, 5 and 60 minutes after arterial revascularization and in the immediate postoperative period, when the postoperative MELD was also calculated. RESULTS: The aminotransferases reached a maximum increase 24 hours after surgery in both the S and NS groups. There was a significantly higher increase in BE and blood lactate in the NS group, especially after 5 minutes of afterial reperfusion of the graft, p<0.05. There was no significant difference in preoperative MELD between groups (p>0.05), while the postoperative MELD was higher in the NS than in the S group (p<0.05) CONCLUSION: Joint analysis of postoperative MELD, BE and blood lactate can be used as an index of severity of the postoperative course of patients submitted to liver transplantation.

The use of perioperative serial blood lactate levels, the APACHE II and the postoperative MELD as predictors of early mortality after liver transplantation

PURPOSE: To evaluate the accuracy of different parameters in predicting early (one-month) mortality of patients submitted to orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). METHODS: This is a retrospective study of forty-four patients (38 males and 10 females, mean age of 52.2 ± 8.9 years) admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary hospital. Serial lactate blood levels, APACHE II, MELD post-OLT, creatinine, bilirubin and INR parameters were analyzed by receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curves as evidenced by the area under the curve (AUC). The level of significance was set at 0.05. RESULTS: The mortality of OLT patients within one month was 17.3%. Differences in blood lactate levels became statistically significant between survivors and nonsurvivors at the end of the surgery (p<0.05). The AUC was 0.726 (95%CI = 0.593-0.835) for APACHE II (p = 0.02); 0.770 (95%CI = 0.596-0.849) for blood lactate levels (L7-L8) (p = 0.03); 0.814 (95%CI = 0.690-0.904) for MELD post-OLT (p < 0.01); 0.550 (95%CI = 0.414-0.651) for creatinine (p = 0.64); 0.705 (95%CI = 0.571-0.818) for bilirubin (p = 0.05) and 0.774 (95%CI = 0.654-0.873) for INR (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Among the studied parameters, MELD post-OLT was more effective in predicting early mortality after OLT.