Background: Because of the complicated pathological features after liver transplantation, severe sepsis is difficult to treat and often leads to death. This study was undertaken to analyze the role of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in patients with severe sepsis and to evaluate the effect of the scoring system.
Methods: Fifty-six patients conformed to the inclusion criteria. They were divided into two groups: non-OLT group (group A) and OLT group (group B). Besides the general data of the patients, the surveillance of blood lactate, the number of failed organs, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II ) and multiple organ dysfunction score (MODS) were evaluated at the 1st, 3rd and 7th day after OLT.
Results: The mortality during hospitalization was 30% in the non-OLT group and 57.6% in the other group. The level of blood lactate at the 1st day of OLT increased more significantly in the OLT group than in the non-OLT group (P<0.01). It was decreased but higher than that in the non-OLT group in the seven days after OLT. The number of failed organs in the OLT group was greater than that in the non-OLT group (P<0.01). The continuous score of APACHE II was not significantly different in the two groups. But the continuous MODS in the OLT group was higher than that in the non-OLT group (P<0.01), which was consistent with the number of failed organs.
Conclusions: The persistently higher level of blood lactate during 7 days may be a dependent risk factor. Immunosuppression may be another risk factor for OLT patients. The mortality of OLT in patients with severe sepsis in 28 days is almost double that in non-OLT patients. The MODS score is better than the APACHE II score in the assessment of organ failure in OLT patients with severe sepsis. The standard scoring system could be improved or a new scoring system that includes the blood lactate score should be established for liver transplantation.