Abstract
Background: Liver ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) is associated with poor outcomes after liver resection. In addition, hepatectomy itself can cause inflammation response and oxidative stress related to postoperative liver injury, hepatic r...
Abstract
Background: Liver ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) is associated with poor outcomes after liver resection. In addition, hepatectomy itself can cause inflammation response and oxidative stress related to postoperative liver injury, hepatic regeneration. Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) has been shown to have protective effects on liver IRI. However, the impact of RIPC focused on living donor has not been elucidated. In this study, we investigated the effects of RIPC on postoperative liver function in donors after living donor hepatectomy.
Methods: A total of 148 living liver donors were enrolled in this study. They were randomly assigned into two groups: Group I (Control, n=73) and Group II (RIPC, n=75). In the RIPC group, three cycles of 5-minute RIPC in the upper limb were performed before hepatectomy. Postoperative liver function test was assessed by measuring aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total bilirubin (TB), and prothrombin time INR (PTINR). The incidence of delayed recovery of hepatic function (DRHF), postoperative liver regeneration index (LRI) and postoperative complications were assessed during the first 7 postoperative days.
Results: RIPC group showed higher maximal and 3rd postoperative day PT INR (1.6 [1.5; 1.7] vs. 1.7 [1.6; 1.8], P= 0.045 and 1.5 [1.4; 1.6] vs. 1.6 [1.5; 1.6], P=0.047). However, there were no statistically significant differences in maximum AST, ALT, and total bilirubin values between the control group and the RIPC group (152.0 [129.0, 180.0] vs. 145.0 [118.5, 188.0], 152.0 [126.0, 196.0] vs. 148.0 [120.5, 197.0], and 2.7 [2.0; 3.2] vs. 2.4 [2.0; 3.0], P=0.568, P=0.775, and P=0.344, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference in LRI at postoperative 1 month (94.9 [61.4;131.2] vs. 83.3 [47.7;117.7], P=0.182). The incidence of DRHF was higher in the RIPC group (0% vs. 6.7%, P=0.074) without statistical significance.
Conclusion: RIPC has no effects on postoperative liver function or liver regeneration index in living liver donors.