Persistent acidosis after reperfusion—A prognostic indicator of increased 30-day and in-hospital postoperative mortality in liver transplant recipients

During liver transplantation, the patient is at risk of developing progressive lactic acidosis. Following reperfusion, correction of acidosis may occur. In some patients, acidosis will worsen, a phenomenon referred to as persistent acidosis after reperfusion (PAAR). We compared postoperative outcomes in patients who manifested PAAR vs those that did not. All adult patients undergoing liver transplantation from 2002 to 2015 were included. PAAR is defined by the presence of a significant negative slope coefficient for base excess values measured after hepatic artery anastomosis through 72 hours postoperatively. Primary outcome was a composite of 30-day and in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included: ICU LOS, total hospital LOS, and re-transplantation rate within 7 days. PAAR occurred in 10% of the transplant recipients. Patients with PAAR had higher MELD, BMI, and eGFR and demonstrated a longer median ICU LOS and hospital median LOS with a trend toward mortality difference. But, after propensity matching, the mortality rate difference became significantly higher in patients with PAAR compared with matched controls while the ICU LOS differences disappeared. The re-transplantation rates were similar also between the PAAR and no PAAR groups. The cohort with PAAR had a significant 30-day and in-hospital increase in mortality after propensity score matching.