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. 2021 Nov 30;11(12):2248.
doi: 10.3390/diagnostics11122248.

Changes in Blood Potassium after Reperfusion during Living-Donor Liver Transplantation: An Exploratory Study

Jeayoun Kim  1 , Ji-Hye Kwon  1 , Gaab Soo Kim  1
Affiliations

Changes in Blood Potassium after Reperfusion during Living-Donor Liver Transplantation: An Exploratory Study

Jeayoun Kim et al. Diagnostics (Basel). .

Abstract

The incidence of hyperkalemia (>5.5 mEq/L) or high blood potassium (5-5.5 mEq/L) during living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is reported to be more than 10%. It occurs more frequently in the early post-reperfusion period and is a major cause of post-reperfusion arrhythmia and cardiac arrest. Unlike deceased-donor liver transplantation, the pattern of blood potassium changes immediately after reperfusion has not been described in LDLT. From January 2021 to March 2021, fifteen consecutive patients were enrolled. Baseline blood potassium was measured from blood samples obtained 10-min (T-10) and immediately before (T0) reperfusion. During the first 5 min after reperfusion, blood potassium measurements were conducted every one minute (T1-T5). The blood potassium levels at T-10 and T0 were 3.8 ± 0.4 and 3.9 ± 0.4 mEq/L, respectively. After reperfusion, mean increases (95% CI) in blood potassium from T-10 and T0 were 0.5 (0.4-0.6) and 0.4 (0.3-0.5) mEq/L, respectively. Blood potassium peaked at T1, returned to baseline at T3, and fell below the baseline at T5. Peak blood potassium after reperfusion showed strong correlations with blood potassium measured at T-10 (p < 0.001) and T0 (p < 0.0001). These findings can support the establishment of future research plans and perioperative management of blood potassium in LDLT.

Keywords: hyperkalemia; living donor liver transplantation; potassium; reperfusion.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Blood potassium changes after reperfusion presented as a box-whisker plot. *: p < 0.05 versus T0.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Changes in partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide, pH, bicarbonate, and lactate after reperfusion. *: p < 0.05 versus T0.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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