BACKGROUND: Although liver transplantation (LT) has made rapid progress, early pulmonary complications still occur. More attention should be paid to fluid therapy that may be an important factor leading to these complications. It is necessary to investigate the correlation between intraoperative and postoperative fluid therapy and early pulmonary complications after LT, then attempt to provide a reasonable fluid therapy in the perioperative period.
METHODS: Sixty-two patients who had undergone LT were enrolled and analyzed retrospectively. Based on early phase prognosis after LT, the 62 patients were divided into a non-pulmonary complication group and a pulmonary complication group. Twenty perioperative variables were analyzed in both groups to screen out several factors causing early pulmonary complications, then the parameters reflecting postoperative recovery were analyzed.
RESULTS: The pulmonary complication group had 29 patients (46.77%), 3 (4.84%) of whom died during the perioperative period. Using monofactorial analysis for each variable, the two groups differed in the following variables: preoperative lung function, volume of intraoperative transfusion, volume of intraoperative bleeding, and volume of intraoperative net fluid retention and fluid balance (≤-500 ml) in ≥2 of the first 3 days after operation. Analysis of the relationship between multivariate factors and pulmonary complications after LT by logistic multivariate regression analysis showed that preoperative lung function, volume of intraoperative bleeding, and fluid balance (≤-500 ml) in ≥2 of the first 3 days after operation were influential factors.
CONCLUSIONS: It is important to maintain fluid balance during the perioperative period of LT. If the hemodynamics are stable, appropriate negative fluid balance in the first 3 days after operation apparently decreases the incidence of early pulmonary complications after LT. These measures are associated with better postoperative recovery.