The purpose of our study was to test the hypothesis that the quotient between plasma glucose and whole body oxygen consumption (VO2) as a 'metabolic index' is a sensitive indicator of early graft function. Arterial levels of glucose and oxygen consumption were determined in 100 consecutive patients during orthotopic liver transplantation performed without anhepatic veno-venous bypass. Patients were divided into survivors with no obvious problems related to graft function and those with primary nonfunction of the graft. The neohepatic increase in VO2 was significantly higher in survivors (112 +/- 4 vs 88 +/- 11 ml.min-1.m-2; p < 0.05), whereas blood glucose levels after reperfusion were higher (352 +/- 18 vs. 287 +/- 36 mg dl-1) in those with primary non-function of the graft. The calculated metabolic index was also higher (4.02 +/- 0.93 vs 2.67 +/- 0.45, p < 0.05) in patients with primary nonfunction of the graft. Our principal conclusion was that 92% of normal functioning liver grafts could be classified correctly by the metabolic index immediately after reperfusion, whereas glucose levels and VO2 alone classified only 67% and 70% of normal functioning liver grafts correctly.