Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the accumulated effects of marginal donor quality factors on liver preservation injury (LPI).
Methods: The most recent 400 consecutive liver transplantations at our institution were reviewed. Marginal liver donor criteria included the following: older than 60 years, an intensive care unit stay under ventilatory support for more than 4 days, a cold ischemia time more than 14 hr, high inotropic drug use, prolonged hypotensive episodes for more than 1 hr and less than 60 mm Hg, a peak serum sodium more than 155 mEq/L, and high levels of bilirubin, alanine transferase, or amino transferase. The type of steatosis (macrovesicular or microvesicular) was quantified in four categories: no steatosis, mild (<30%), moderate (30-60%), and severe (> 60%). LPI was stratified histologically in four levels: no damage, mild, moderate, and severe injury. These variables were included in a logistic regression analysis for prediction of the probability of the appearance of LPI.
Results: Five variables showed an independent influence on LPI: high inotropic drug use (odds ratio [OR]=1.56), donor age (OR=1.017 per year), moderate to severe macrovesicular steatosis (OR=3.63), cold ischemia time (OR=1,109 per hour), and prolonged stay in an intensive care unit (OR=1.79). Severe LPI was present in 32.7% of the grafts from donors without any factor of the model; in 46.8% from donors with one factor (P =0.09); in 66.2% from donors with two factors (P =0.006); and in 78.3% from donors with at last three factors (P =0.002) (global P=0.0001; chi2 =21.8).
Conclusions: LPI can be potentially predicted based on donor and graft conditions. Accumulation of factors is correlated with an increased effect on LPI.