Impact of a Goal-directed Therapy Protocol on Postoperative Fluid Balance in Patients Undergoing Liver Transplantation: a Retrospective Study

Objective: Liver transplantation carries major risks during the perioperative period. Few studies focused on the hemodynamics of patients undergoing liver transplantation. The present study was aimed to evaluate the impact of the implementation of a protocol including goal-directed therapy in patients undergoing liver transplantation. Our first goal was to determine its impact on the fluid balance. Secondarily, we evaluated possible improvements in the patient outcomes.

Study Design: A before and after study.

Patients And Methods: Fifty patients undergoing liver transplantation were included during two successive six-month periods. During the first period, the management of the patients was left at the discretion of the senior physicians (control group, n=25). During the second period, the patients were treated according to a predetermined protocol including a specific hemodynamic monitoring (protocol group, n=25).

Results: The fluid balance was negative in the protocol group and positive in the control group at 24h (-606mL vs. +3445mL, P<0.01) and 48h (-2315mL vs. +1170mL, P<0.01) after liver transplantation. The volume of the crystalloid administration was lower in the protocol group than in the control group (5000mL vs. 8000mL, P<0.01, and 1500mL vs. 6000mL, P<0.01, during surgery and 48h after liver transplantation, respectively). The duration of mechanical ventilation and postoperative ileus were significantly reduced in the protocol group, as compared with the control group, 20h vs. 94h (P<0.01) and 4days vs. 6days (P<0.01), respectively.

Conclusion: For patients undergoing liver transplantation, the implementation of a protocol aiming to optimize hemodynamics was associated with reduced fluid balance and decreased requirement for mechanical ventilation and postoperative ileus duration.