The value of serial determination of MEGX and hyaluronic acid early after orthotopic liver transplantation.
Post-transplant assessment of early graft function has become an essential part of monitoring, especially when deciding on retransplantation. If primary non-function is indicated, retransplantation is inevitable; early graft dysfunction may be related to subsequent complications. In a prospective study in 84 patients after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) we measured aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH), bilirubin (BIL), prothrombin time, MEGX formation, hyaluronic acid (HA) and soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) concentrations during the first 2 postoperative weeks; graft outcome was followed over 4 months. The aim of this study was to determine whether graft survival could be predicted by such variables early after OLT. Compared with patients with stable graft function (n = 25), patients with post-transplant icteric cholestasis (n = 30) exhibited no difference in graft survival, despite a decrease in MEGX formation to a nadir median of 12 micrograms L-1 on day 10. Patients with rejection (n = 8) and septicaemia (n = 6) showed a marked decrease in MEGX values and an increase in HA and sIL-2R concentrations between postoperative days 3 and 7. Patients with primary non-function (PNF; n = 5) were characterized by strongly reduced MEGX formation (median 4 micrograms L) and increased HA values (median 2300 micrograms L-1) on day 3 after OLT. A total of 24/84 grafts were lost within 120 days. In a survival analysis using the Cox proportional hazards regression, HA and MEGX values on day 1 were the only independent variables entering the model that showed an adequate prognostic sensitivity. At cut-off points of 22 micrograms L-1 (MEGX) and 730 micrograms L-1 (HA) the combined use of these parameters in a parallel approach yielded a sensitivity of 58% with a corresponding specificity of 95% for 120-day graft survival. These findings suggest that the inclusion of MEGX and HA in postoperative monitoring of OLT patients may be helpful in the early prediction of graft survival.
Abteilung Klinische Chemie, Zentrum Innere Medizin, Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany.
E
E
Schütz
M
M
Luy-Kaltefleiter
M
M
Kaltefleiter
M
M
Burdelski
B
B
Ringe
V W
VW
Armstrong
M
M
Oellerich
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000032:analysis*; D008012:Lidocaine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008875:Middle Aged; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2 / Q000032:analysis
D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid; D008012:Lidocaine; C001173:monoethylglycinexylidide