Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2006 May;38(4):1131-4.
doi: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2006.03.055.

Analysis of the causal factors of prolonged mechanical ventilation after orthotopic liver transplant

S Faenza  1 , M S Ravaglia, M Cimatti, A Dante, S Spedicato, A M Morselli Labate
Affiliations

Analysis of the causal factors of prolonged mechanical ventilation after orthotopic liver transplant

S Faenza et al. Transplant Proc. 2006 May.

Abstract

Background: Prolonged mechanical ventilation and the consequently long stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) appear to be important infection risk factors in patients undergoing liver transplant.

Methods: We analyzed the data relating to 70 liver transplants performed on 67 patients during the past year's activities. For each patient we have considered the presence of preoperative pulmonary alterations, the first radiological result of the postoperative thorax, the PaO(2)/FiO(2) ratio recorded in the peroperative phase immediately after induction of general anesthesia (T0), and arrival at the ICU at the end of the operation (T1). We also considered the enzyme trend (glutamate-oxalacetic transaminase [GOT] and glutamate-pyruvate transaminase [GPT]) recorded every 6 hours for the first 42 hours of the postoperative period (times T1 to T7).

Results: There was an evident correspondence between the values of PaO(2)/FiO(2) < or = 300 ratio at time T1 and the subsequent duration of mechanical ventilation (P = .001). There was also a correlation between the PaO(2)/FiO(2) < or = 300 ratio at time T1 and the trend of the GPT in the first 24 hours postsurgery (P = .021; P = .026; P = .018; P = .048) or GOT trend over the same span of time (P = .027; P = .035; P = .048).

Conclusions: Graft malfunction as expressed by the enzyme trend affects both the duration of mechanical ventilation and the postoperative PaO(2)/FiO(2) ratios. This metric may be useful to reinforce infection surveillance and to perform an early percutaneous tracheostomy in these patients.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources