PORTAL AND ARTERIAL FLUSHING WITH HTK AND TACROLIMUS CAN ATTENUATE THE INCIDENCE OF EARLY LIVER ALLOGRAFT DYSFUNCTION

Abstract

It was shown that Tacrolimus (Tac) can suppress infl ammation and immune response involved in liver ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) (Kristo I., Transpl Int., 2011). Aim. We hypothesize that back-table arterial and portal liver perfusion with Tac can infl uence the incidence and severity of early allograft dysfunction (EAD). A prospective randomized study was conducted (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifi er: NCT01887171).Materials and methods.Criteria of the inclusion: First liver transplantation from DBD donor with sequential portal-arterial reperfusion. At back-table portal vein and hepatic artery were perfused each by 500 ml of HTK solution containing 20 ng/ml Tac during 10–15 min followed by portal fl ushing with 200 ml 5% solution of Albumin containing 20 ng/ml Tac and by resting of liver in effl uent. No Tac was added in the control group. Primary Outcome: EAD (Olthoff KM, et al. Liver Transpl. 2010) and severe EAD (P.R.Salvalaggio, et al. Transpl. Proceedings, 2012).Results.No difference was found between groups (main vs. control) in terms of MELD (16 vs. 16), steatosis (10 vs. 10%), ballooning (45 vs. 40%) of liver grafts, recipient age (50 vs. 50 y.o.), warm ischemia time (50 vs.50 min) and total ischemia time (482.5 vs. 485.0 min). Median donor age was higher in the main group (44.5 vs. 39.0 y.o.). The overall rate of EAD was 27.9%. EAD rate was signifi cantly lower in the main group (6/43 vs. 18/43; p = 0.003). The rate of moderate-to-severe EAD was lower in the main group (1/43 vs. 10/43; p = 0.009). The median levels of AST and ALT in 24 h after reperfusion were signifi cantly lower in the intervention group (1004 vs. 1596; p = 0.03 and 449 vs. 759; p = 0.057).Conclusion.Portal and arterial back-table liver perfusion with HTK solution with Tacrolimus may contribute to lower EAD incidence and severity.