Intra-abdominal Temperature Variation During Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy Evaluated Via Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling

Background: Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) targets intraperitoneal tumors with heated drug solutions via catheters inserted into the peritoneal space. Although studies have focused on clinical outcomes, the flow dynamics at specific intra-abdominal locations at-risk of harboring malignant cells remain poorly understood but are likely to impact the drug pharmacokinetics. Consequently, optimal protocols remain uncertain, with efficacy critically dependent on drug temperature and flow rate. This study tested the hypothesis that fluid flow dynamics at specific at-risk locations could be evaluated via a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of closed HIPEC in a simulated human abdominal cavity, with the goal to enable protocol optimization.

Methods: A computer-aided-design (CAD) model of a human intraperitoneal cavity (30 L) was coupled with computational fluid dynamics analysis. The tested HIPEC cycle parameters included catheter position and flow rates. The cavity was subjected to forward (superior to inferior flow) or reverse flow directions at 800 or 1,120 cc/min through four catheters, two as inlets and two as outlets, placed in upper and lower abdominal positions (net fluid volume: 18.5 L). Probes to measure temperature and flow were simulated between small and large bowels, inferior to small bowel mesentery, next to duodenum, superior to liver, superior to fundus, posterior to stomach, and posterior to liver.

Results: The simulations highlight heterogeneity in temperatures and flow that may occur during HIPEC at particular at-risk locations as a function of chemotherapy flow rate and direction. Temperature and fluid flow over the course of 90 min respectively varied from 0.93 K and <0.001 m/s inferior to small bowel mesentery (800 cc/min forward flow) to 3.6 K and 0.01 m/s next to the duodenum (either 800 or 1,120 cc/min forward flow). The results further suggest that monitoring outflow temperature may be inadequate for assessing HIPEC performance at at-risk locations.

Conclusions: Without intra-abdominal temperature monitoring at at-risk locations, it may be unfeasible to determine whether target temperatures and temperature homogeneity are being achieved during HIPEC. This work demonstrates that computational analysis offers the capability to monitor intra-abdominal locations at-risk of suboptimal heating and fluid flow given specific HIPEC parameters, and represents a first step towards designing efficacious tumor targeting during HIPEC.