Recipient-Related Preoperative and Intraoperative Risk Factors for Primary Graft Dysfunction After Orthotopic Liver Transplantation.

INTRODUCTION: Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is a multifactorial syndrome related to the most adverse outcomes after liver transplantation. Ischemia-reperfusion injury is recognized as the predominant cause of this complication. PGD may be subdivided into early allograft dysfunction, diagnosed by the presence of a serum bilirubin level ≥10 mg/dL (171 μmol/L), International Normalized Ratio ≥1.6, or alanine and aspartate transaminase levels ≥2000 IU/L on the seventh postoperative day; and primary nonfunction, defined as either a need for retransplantation or patient death within the first 7 days. We aimed to determine the preoperative and intraoperative risk factors for PGD.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled 109 patients who underwent orthotopic liver transplantation between 2012 and 2016. Analysis included inter alia: biochemical parameters, morphology, blood transfusions, as well as intraoperative fluctuations of blood pressure.

RESULTS: Fourteen percent of patients were diagnosed with PGD. Using logistic regression and multivariate and receiver operating characteristic and area under the curve analysis, a preoperative neutrophils level above 4030/μL (OR = 4.03, P = .012) and decrease of the mean arterial pressure after reperfusion were recognized as the major independent PGD risk factors.

CONCLUSIONS: A high preoperative neutrophils level may be a novel recipient-related risk factor for PGD. A decrease of the arterial blood pressure after graft reperfusion may influence the development of PGD.